Everything has Changed
by blackout4465
Summary: The people of Remnant have maintained a uneasy co-existence with the Grimm, they kill us, we kill them. It always seemed simple enough as long as neither side got too greedy. So what happens when one side starts pushing for more? Faunus Ruby, gender swaps, age changes. [Revision in progress. 8/15 Complete]
1. Welcome To Beacon

**Alright! So, if you have actually managed to find my other story (Five Months Later) in the sea of RWBY fanfic's that come out everyday, then you may know that I am a fan of Alternate / Parallel universes, as well as connected universes. As I found my self being drawn deeper and deeper into the RWBY section of this wonderful site, I discovered something.**

 **I really like the idea of Ruby as a Faunus.**

 **So! To honor this, I have throw each of the members of team's RWBY and JNPR into a random generator, along with 'Gender' and 'Species' to see what I can get. I gotta say, I really like my results. Now then, lets see what I can make with these results.**

 **Side note: From what I've read on the Wiki, the forums and in interviews, Faunus can share traits with any animal. Mammal, Reptilian and Avian.**

* * *

 **Airship**

"Ooh! I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" The blonde girl shouted as she pulled a smaller girl with a red cloak into a bone crushing hug.

The other girl didn't seem to be as excited by the hug as she squirmed in the taller girls hold. "Please! Yang I can't breathe!" She shouted.

Yang released her with a smile, her hair shifting as she stretched her wings slightly. "Sorry, I'm just so excited!"

"Yeah, I could tell!" The smaller girl said as she fixed her cloak. "I don't know how you do it, but every time you hug me, my cape gets caught on Crescent Rose's holster!"

Yang kept smiling. "Well Ruby, maybe if you just used a Magnet Plate like everyone else, then your cape wouldn't catch on the hooks."

Ruby gave Yang a frustrated stare. "We've been over this Yang!" She stated. "I can't use a Magnet Plate because it would mess with the complex components inside her!"

Yang was about to respond, but the screen on the wall grabbed her attention.

 _"The robbery was lead by notorious criminal, Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale police department."_

Yang turned to Ruby. "I'm so proud of you!"

Ruby gave Yang a sad look. "Really sis, it was nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon's gonna think your the bee's knee's!" Yang said as she guestured to the rest of the people in the area.

Ruby frowned, the ears on the top of her head flattening against her skull. "I don't want to be the bee's knee's! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knee's!"

Yang continued to smile as she tilted her head to the side. "Whats the matter? Aren't you excited?" He cheerful tone clashing with Ruby's depressed aura.

"Of course I'm excited, it just that... I skipped ahead two years. I don't want anyone to think I'm special." She said as she looked to Yang through her bangs.

Yang smiled and put an arm around her sisters shoulders. "But Ruby, you are special. Not many people can fight someone like Roman Torchwick and get away without so much as a scratch." She said.

Roman himself had graduated from Beacon academy close to a decade prior, and had dropped off the grid little more that a year later, only to resurface as the head of Vale's underground. He became a household name due to his use of excessive force, and his questionable taste in clothes. He had been keeping quiet for the last few month's, at least until Ruby ran into him and his goons at a local dust shop.

 _"In other news, this Saturday's Faunus civil rights protest turned dark, when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony."_

Yang turned to the screen with a scowl. "Them again?" Her wings twitched in annoyance.

Ruby turned to look at Yang with an amused smile. "Still sore over the change?"

"I didn't know that they had become terrorists when I wore the shirt to school!" She said as she crossed her arms.

Being both Faunus themselves, Yang and Ruby initially supported the White Fang, at least until they started to hurt people. Yang was proud of her heritage, and wanted people to know it, so she often wore a shirt with the White Fang logo over her right breast. She did this for much of her early school years, until they changed to their current state. Yang was only twelve when they changed, and didn't see much wrong with wearing the new logo around, so she changed it. At first, no one said anything to her about the red logo on the shirts, but since children have a knack for being little demons, one of the less Faunus friendly boys decided to clue Yang in on what the change had meant.

"I still can't get a normal job back in Patch thanks to them." She muttered as she looked back to the broadcast. It flickered for a moment before vanishing. Seconds later a blonde woman with glasses and a purple cape appeared on the screen. "Hey, who's she?" Yang asked.

 _"Hello and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch."_

"Oh." Yang said as she watched the screen.

 _"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being chosen to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future huntsman and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and training to protect our world."_ The woman faded away, revealing the city below as the haze on the window cleared.

"Wow!" Ruby said as she walked over to the window. Other students noticed the chance to view the city and began to point out landmarks to each other. "Look, Yang! I can see Signal from here!" Ruby said as she pointed to a Gothic looking building in the center of the city. "I guess home isn't too far after all." She said with a smile.

Yang put her arm around Ruby's shoulder and looked down at her. "Beacon's our home now." She said as she rustled Ruby's hair.

There was a groan to their right as a blonde girl wearing some light armor covered her mouth and stumbled past them, looking about ready to puke.

Yang giggled. "Well, I guess the view isn't for everyone."

"It was a nice moment while it lasted." Ruby said as she turned to look up at Yang.

"I wonder who were gonna meet!" Yang said.

"I just hope they're better than Vomit girl." Ruby said with a frown. She looked to the ground where she saw something green. A look of disgust crossed her face as she pointed down at Yang's shoe. "Eww! Yang, you've got puke of your shoe!"

"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!" She repeated as she shook her boot to the side.

"Get away from me! No, get back!" Ruby shouted as she backed away from Yang.

* * *

 **Beacon Landing Platform**

The doors to the airship slid open as the girl in light armor sprinted through them to a nearby trashcan to empty the contents of her stomach. Yang and Ruby continued past her as they exited the ship, allowing for them to get a closer look at the schools courtyard. From where the ship deposited them, they could see the whole of Beacon Academy's main building, with the CCT tower in the back.

Yang looked around impressed as she crossed her arms, her wings shifting slightly as a she felt a breeze blow by. "The view from Vale's got nothing on this." She said.

Ruby had other thing's on her agenda though, as she began to fawn over every weapon that passed her. "Sis! That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a Fire sword!" She said as she tried to follow them away. Yang frowned and dragged Ruby back by her ear. "OW! Yang, watch the ears!" She said as she turned to face her sister with an annoyed glare. "What was that for?" She demanded.

Yang smiled slightly. "You gotta calm down Ruby, they're just weapons." She said with a shrug.

"Just weapon?" Ruby asked with a shocked tone in her voice. "They're not just weapons! They're an extension or ourselves, they're a part of us! Ooh, they're so cool." She said as she scanned the area for other unique weapons.

"Well why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?" Yang asked.

The sound of gears shifting and metal popping into place could be heard as Ruby extended her scythe to its full height. "Her." She said. "And of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones." She said as she turned and let Crescent rose fall to her side. "It's like meeting new people... But better."

Yang smirked. "Ruby." She said as she grabbed her hood and pulled it down over her face. "Come on, why don't you go try and make some friends of your own?" Yang asked as she stepped back.

Ruby pulled her hood back into it's normal place, ignoring the minor pain she had felt when the fabric squished her ears. "Well, why would I need friends when I have you?" She asked.

Yang grinned. "Well actually, I was gonna go explore the school when I got here so..."

Ruby smiled. "Great idea! I'll go with you!" She stated.

"Good luck following me this time sis." She said as she unfurled her wings from behind her hair, taking extra care to move each strand away from where the wings were connected to her. Yang's wings consisted of two colors, on the scales that trailed along the wings from her back to the tips, was a dark shade of red, with the leathery webbing on her wings being a bright gold. Yang grinned and jumped into the air, using her wings to push her higher until she was able to fly off on the air currents.

Yang's sudden departure had caused a bit of a whirlwind that forced Ruby backwards with a spin. "Wait! Yang! Aren't we supposed to go to our dorms?! Where are our dorms?! Do we have dorms?!" Ruby managed to stop her spin and sighed as she lost her balance. "I don't know what I'm doing." She felt the back of her foot hit something and she fell back onto a cart of white suitcases, earning the ire of the person beside it.

"What are you doing?!" Ruby heard someone shout as she pulled herself out of the pile of luggage. Standing before her was a boy wearing nothing but white and blue. While his main attire seemed to consist of a white suit with a light grey undershirt, he had a long white overcoat that changed to grey as it extended down to his ankles. The overcoat had an over exaggerated collar that stood up to just under his ears with a bright red lining the inside. The ends of each sleeve seemed to open wider as they got closer to his wrists. On both sides of his hips were a set of silver-grey rapiers with revolver chambers just past each handle. He had long hair that was formed into a braid that trailed down his front left side, and he had a scar across a blind left eye.

"Uhh, sorry." Ruby said as she lifted one of the cases.

"Sorry?" The boy asked. He had a thick northern accent and a bit of a snobbish air about him. "Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?!" He asked, the irritation in his voice showing through with no extra help needed.

"Uhh?" Ruby responded as she raised the case up to him.

He scowled. "Give me that!" He demanded as he took the case from Ruby's hands and opened it. "This is Dust! Mined and purified from a Schnee quarry."

"Uhh..." Ruby said again as she tried to get a better handle on the situation that was unfolding.

This answer only seemed to annoy the boy more as he continued. "What are you, brain dead?!" He demanded. "Dust! Fire, Water, lightning! Energy!" He shouted as he shook the red vile that he had pulled out of the case, not seeming to notice the cloud that had formed around Ruby. "Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in?!" He demanded. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

 ***BOOM!***

The cloud of dust caused Ruby to sneeze, igniting the dust in the air into an explosion and blowing the red vile out of the boys hand. The vial bounced on the ground before coming to a stop at the feet of a girl in black.

"Unbelievable!" The boy shouted as he stomped his foot to clear the ash off of him. "This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" He shouted.

Ruby placed her hands together as she looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm really, really sorry."

He continued to scowl. "You utter buffoon! What are you even doing here!? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon!?" He demanded.

"Well, I, Ah..." Ruby tried.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice you know! We're here to fight monsters, so watch where your going!" He shouted as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Now Ruby was frustrated. "Hey, I said I was sorry your Highness." She said with annoyance in her voice.

"It's Heir, actually." The girl in black said as she walked over to the two. "Winston Schnee, Heir to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." She finished as she looked at the boy.

He smiled smugly. "Finally, some recognition." He said as he shot a glare over his shoulder at Ruby.

"The same company that's infamous for it's controversial labor forces, and questionable business partners." She finished, not missing a chance to take a shot at his ego.

Winston crossed his arms and snorted. "At least we hire those stupid Faunus. They should be happy with what they get from us after what the White Fang have done to the Schnee Dust Company." He finished as he glared at the girl in black, quickly realizing that she was not on his side either.

The girl in black narrowed her eyes. "You hire them and force them to work long hours in the mines for well below an acceptable wage." She said, the spite in her words seeping through. "What you have is basically a slave labor force."

"They are free to leave the mines whenever they like." Winston said.

"If they flee then they are running into Grimm infested forests! You transport them out into the middle of nowhere, then you force them to mine Dust for you while they are being watched by men with guns!" She said, raising her voice slightly for the end.

Winston didn't seem to budge. "The weapons are necessary to keep away the filth, you know, the Grimm, White Fang, door to door salesmen." He uncrossed his arms and motioned for his staff to re-stack his bags. "It almost sounds like you sympathize with those degenerates in the White Fang." He said as he looked back to the girl in black.

She had a frustrated look on her face as she turned away. Blake had expected the exchange to go more in her favor when she started it, but the Schnee had kept a cool head through it all, not even fazed when Blake tried to poke fun at his family's reputation. "No... Not anymore at least." She said as she started walking away from him.

Winston watched her leave before lifting the bag by his feet onto the cart. He turned to Ruby one last time with a scowl before departing, his staff following along closely with his bags.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" She shouted as he walked out of sight. She frowned before turning towards where Blake had been standing. "So, what's your na-" But She had vanished. Ruby sighed. "Welcome to Beacon." She said as she let herself fall into the crater she created. She let herself lay there for a moment before a shadow covered her eyes.

Opening her eyes and turning she saw the girl with light armor from the airship. She had a blueish purple jumpsuit on under her armor, which covered her upper torso, along with her waist. She had a pair of metal greaves that covered her legs from the knee to her feet, and some plating to cover her shoulders and forearms. She had long blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders, but was held back by a blue hair band. She had some light cloth connecting each of the hunks of metal on her waist together like a skirt. At her waist was a white scabbard and a sword with a blue hilt.

"Hi, I'm Jean." She said with a smile as she offered Ruby a hand.

Ruby smiled and took the hand, letting Jean help her up. "I'm Ruby." She said. Ruby looked at her and chuckled. "Aren't you the girl that threw up on the ship?" She asked.

* * *

Ruby and Jean began to wander the school grounds as they talked and got to know one another. "All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jean protested as Ruby waved her hand.

"Look I'm sorry, Vomit girl was the first thing that came to mind." She said as they continued to walk.

Jean looked up with a frustrated look. "Oh yeah, well what if I called you crater face?" She asked.

An annoyed look crossed Ruby's face. "Hey, that explosion was an accident!" She shouted.

"Well the names Jean Arc, short and sweet." She said as they continued walking.

"Short and sweet?" Ruby asked with a confused look.

Jean nodded. "Yep, short and sweet. It's odd, I feel like it's not finished. It's like the author couldn't think of a way to write this sentence from a girls perspective." She said as she stared past Ruby.

Ruby gave her a confused stare before chuckling to herself. "Sooo... I've got this thing." She said as she deployed Crescent Rose, causing the tip of the blade to stab into the ground.

Jean jumped back, clearly startled by the large weapon. "Whoa! Is t-that a scythe?" She asked as she pointed to Crescent Rose.

"It's also a customizable, high impact sniper rifle." Ruby said as she pulled it from the ground and placed it across her chest.

"A what?" Jean asked.

Ruby pulled the bolt back on the rifle. "It's also a gun."

"Oh... That's cool!" Jean said as she looked on.

"So what have you got Jean?" Ruby asked as she turned to face the other girl.

"Oh, ah. I've um, got this sword." She said.

"Ooh." Ruby said as she looked at the large blade.

"Yeah, I've got this shield too." Jean said as she raised the scabbard to her chest. Flipping a switch on the inside, the edges of the scabbard shot out to form a large kite shield.

"So what do they do?" Ruby asked as she ran her hand along the shield. Jean hit the switch on the inside by mistake and caused the shield to jump out of her hand. Ruby giggled slightly as she watched Jean fumble around trying to catch her shield.

"The ah, shield gets smaller. So when I get tired of carrying it, I can just put it away." She said as she placed the scabbard back on her hip.

Ruby scratched her head in confusion. "But, wouldn't it weight the same?" She asked.

Jean's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, It does..." She said in defeat, her attempts at being smooth failing her.

Ruby smiled. "Well, I'm kind of a dork when it come's to weapon's. I guess I did go a little overboard in designing her."

Jean gave Ruby a shocked look. "Wait... You made that?" She asked in surprise.

Ruby nodded. "Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?" She asked as Jean examined her sword.

She shook her head. "It's a hand me down. My Great-Great Grandfather used it to fight in the war."

Ruby laughed nervously. "Sounds more like a family heirloom to me." She said before turning to face Jean. "Well I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

Jean nodded with a smile. "Yeah... The classics." She said as she sheathed her sword.

Ruby turned to continue walking and looked back at Jean over her shoulder. "So, why'd you help me out back there, in the courtyard?" Ruby asked.

Jean shrugged. 'Eh, why not. My mother always says, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet."

Ruby thought the answer over in her head for a moment before agreeing, then she turned back to Jean. "Hey, where are we going?" She asked.

Jean looked at her in confusion. "I was following you." She said as the two began to look at their surroundings. "You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court, some sort of recognizable land mark." Jean asked causing Ruby to giggle. "Is that a no?" She asked.

Ruby nodded. "That's a no."

* * *

 **Assembly Hall**

Jean and Ruby walked into a large room that was filled to the brim with students. A quick look around confirmed it to be comprised of mostly first year students, with the occasional second year talking to a friend.

"Ruby! Over here!" Ruby and Jean turned to see Yang waving to them. "I saved you a spot!" She shouted.

Ruby smiled and turned to Jean. "Oh, hey I gotta go, I'll see you after the ceremony!" She said as she took off towards her sister.

Jean shouted for her to wait before sighing. "Great, now where am I gonna find someone nice and quirky to talk to?" She asked herself as she strode off towards the front, not noticing the pair of eyes that followed her as she left.

Yang and Ruby were looking up at the stage, waiting for the assembly to start. "So, how'd your first day going little sister?" Yang asked with a grin.

Ruby shot her a glare. "You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?!" She half shouted.

Yang grimaced. "Yikes, meltdown already?"

Ruby shook her head. "No, I literally exploded a hole in the front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice?" She said as she placed her hand on her chin.

Yang smiled and leaned her head towards Ruby. "Are you being sarcastic?" She asked.

Ruby scoffed. "I wish! I tripped over some mean guy's luggage, and then he yelled, and then I exploded, and then he yelled again, and I felt really, really bad, and I just wanted him to stop yelling at me." She said, failing to notice the presence of said male immediately behind her.

"You!" He shouted, causing Ruby to jump into Yang's arms.

"Oh god it's happening again!" She yelled.

He crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at her. "Your lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" He scolded.

Yang looked to Ruby in horror. "Oh my god, you really exploded."

"It was an accident!" Ruby protested before turning to Winston. "It was an accident!" Her response was him shoving a pamphlet in her face. Ruby tilted her head. "Whats this?" She asked.

Winston glared at Ruby before he began. "The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages their customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy-to-follow guide to Dust application and practice in the field."

Ruby was a little confused from the speech that seemed a little more than rehearsed. "Uhh..." Was all she could manage.

Winston continued to glare at the poor Faunus. "You really want to start making things up to me?" He asked.

Ruby nodded. "Absolutely!" She said.

He shoved the pamphlet into her hands. "Then read this and never speak to me again."

Yang scratched the back of her head as she watched the exchange between the boy in the white coat and her sister. "Look uh, it sound's like you two just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends okay?" She said, trying to help her little sister make at least one friend.

"Yeah!" Ruby shouted as she spun around to face Winston. "Hello Winston, I'm Ruby." Ruby stuck out her hand as she spoke. "Want to hang out? We could go shopping for school supplies." Ruby said, hoping to get a better response from the boy this time.

The glare left Winston's face, only to be replaced by a look of boredom. "One, I'm a guy. Why do you think that going on a shopping trip would interest me in the slightest? Two, I have no desire to associate myself with a Faunus." He said as he turned on his heels and walked away from the sisters.

Yang glared at him as he walked away. "Great. He's one of those Humans." She said as she placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Don't let him bother you sis. I'd rather you didn't make friends with a boy this quick anyway." She said as they turned to face the stage.

The microphone switched on as Professor Ozpin took the stage. "I'll, keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your lives to the protection of the people. But as I look amongst you, all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." Yang shook her wings slightly to push her hair back as Ozpin left the stage.

Glynda Goodwitch walked to the mic and began to direct the students. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight, tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready, you are dismissed." She finished.

Yang tilted her head to the side as she watched Ozpin leave the room. "He seemed kind of... Off."

Ruby nodded in agreement. "It's almost like he wasn't even there."

* * *

 **Ballroom**

Ruby laid on her sleeping bag amongst a sea of first years who had joined her as the day came to a close. She was quietly sketching in her notebook as Yang flopped down beside her. "It's like a big slumber party!"

Ruby frowned. "I don't think dad would approve of all the boys." She said as she continued to draw.

Yang grinned and looked around at the boys who were messing around by the walls. "I know I do!" She said as she attempted to make a purring noise.

"Yang, your not even a mammal Faunus, your a dragon. Stop trying to purr, it always sounds weird." Ruby said as she turned to her sister.

Yang grinned as she tried to poke fun at her little sister. "Your just mad because your a cat that can't purr!" She said. She was quickly met with a pillow to the face in response.

Ruby gave Yang an annoyed stare. "Shut up! I can purr! I just don't want to!" She said, and she wasn't lying. Ruby was a Lynx base. She did have the potential to be able to Purr, she just never figured out how.

Yang laughed a few times before looking down at what Ruby was drawing. "What're ya doing?" She asked as she watched Ruby finish drawing a Beowolf on the paper.

"I'm adding a cover for my letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them everything about Beacon." She said as she brushed the lead dust off of her paper.

Yang smiled. "Aww, that's so cute!" She squealed, only to be hit with Ruby's other pillow.

"Hey, I didn't get to take my friends with me to school, it's weird not knowing anyone here." She said as she placed her drawing in her bag.

Yang tilted her head to the side. "What about Jean?" She asked, gesturing to the blonde that was laying a few feet away and wearing a onesie with bunny ears on her feet. "She seems... Nice?" Yang said, not terribly sure herself what to think of the other blonde.

Ruby sighed and rolled onto her back. "Pretty sure that Winston counts as a negative friend." She said, the irritation in her voice when she thought about the boy showing through.

Yang smiled. "There's no such thing as a negative friend! You just made one friend, and one enemy!" She said as she watched Ruby stare off into the darkness above them. "Look, it's only been one day, trust me, you've got friends all around you, you just haven't met them yet."

Ruby thought about her sister's words for a moment, before a sudden burst of light caught both of their attentions. Turning to the source they found Blake sitting by the wall reading a book. Ruby's eyes lit up. "That girl..." She said.

Yang's eyebrow rose as she watched her sister. "You know her?" She asked.

"Not really, she saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything." Ruby said as she watched her turn the page.

Yang grinned. "Well, here's your chance!" She said as she dragged Ruby to her feet and pulled her along.

Ruby gave a surprised yelp as she was dragged to her feet. "Hey! Wait, what are you doing! Yang let go!" She shouted, but her protests fell on deaf ears as the blonde dragged her over to Blake, who herself had taken notice of the duo slowly making their way over to her, a bit hard to miss as Yang's wings knocked other students out of the way.

Yang saw the girl look up at them from her book and decided to greet her. "Hellooo!" She sang. "I believe you two may know each other." She finished as she turned to Ruby.

Blake raised her eyebrow and looked at Ruby. "Aren't you the girl who exploded?" She asked, not really caring about the answer.

Ruby turned and looked down at her. "Uhh, yeah. Hi, my names Ruby." She said as she stuck out her hand for a handshake. Blake starred at her hand for a moment before looking back to her book. "But you can just call me crater... Actually you can just call me Ruby..."

"Right..." Blake said as she hoped the two would notice her lack of desire to talk and leave her to her book.

Yang turned to look at Ruby with a serious look in her eyes. "What are you doing!?" She asked.

"I don't know help me!" She shot back as they turned back to Blake.

"So, what's your name?" Yang asked with a smile.

She sighed. "Blake." She said.

Yang grinned. "Well Blake, I'm Yang. Ruby's older sister. I like your bow!"

"Thanks." She said, trying to ignore the blonde.

"It goes great with your... Pajamas." Yang finished.

Now she was irritated. "Right..."

She could see the two of them slowly losing the desire to talk to her as the conversation continued. "Nice night huh?" Yang asked.

Blake nodded. "Yes, it's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book... That I will continue to read... As soon as you leave." She said, finally deciding to throw subtlety to the wind.

Yang sighed. "Yeah, this girls a lost cause." She said as she turned to Ruby.

"What's it about?" Ruby asked as she looked down at Blake.

"Huh?" Blake asked, caught off guard by the question.

"Your book. Does it have a name?" She asked.

Blake looked up at Ruby from over the top of her book. "W-well it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control of his body." She said.

While it was clear that Yang was uninterested in the book, Ruby stepped forward to continue the conversation. "I love books." She said. "Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters, they're one of the reasons I want to become a huntress." She finished.

Blake was surprised by the girls forwardness. "Why's that? Hoping to live happily ever after?" She asked.

"Well I'm hoping we all will." She said. "As a little girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books, someone who fought for what was right, and protected those who couldn't protect themselves."

Blake smiled as she looked up to Ruby, the girl was the very picture of innocence. "That's very ambitious for a child. Unfortunately the real world isn't like a fairy tail." Blake said with a frown.

Ruby smiled. "Well, that's why were here. To make it better." She said.

Yang smiled. "Ooh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" She said as she grabbed Ruby and pulled her into a hug.

Blake watched as the two began to fight and laughed lightly. "Well, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to have-" But she was cut off by Winston as he appeared behind Ruby and Yang.

"What in the world is going on here!?" He demanded. "Some of us are trying to sleep!" He stated as he turned to look at Ruby and Yang.

 **"Oh not you again!"** He and Yang shouted in unison as their eyes met.

"Shh! Guys, he's right, people are trying to sleep!" Ruby said in a loud whisper.

"Oh now your on my side?!" Winston demanded.

"I was always on your side!" Ruby protested.

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister!?" Yang demanded.

"She's a hazard to my health!" He shouted.

Blake scowled and threw her book down beside her, realizing that she wasn't going to get any reading done tonight she grabbed the candles and blew them out, coating the area in darkness.

* * *

 **Well was fun to write. Thus far not much really changes from the actual series, save for the alternate Genders for Weiss, Jaune and Pyrrha. I made some minor cosmetic changes to some of the weapons in this story to add to my personal vision of this universe.**

* * *

 **Yang Xiao Long - Female Faunus - Base: Dragon**

 **Ruby Rose - Female Faunus - Base: Lynx**

 **Blake Belladonna - Female Faunus - Base: House Cat**

 **Winston Schnee - Male Human**

 **Jean Arc - Female Human**

* * *

 **And that's it for the characters from this chapter. In the next chapter you get to see what changes have hit the rest of JNPR, and I get to figure out how I'm going to make this story worth reading.**

 **As I said above I did make some alterations to the weapons to add to my personal vision of this world.**

* * *

 **Ember Celica - Rather than leather gloves, the fingers are now completely metal.**

 **Myrtenaster - Now comes in a pair.**

 **Crocea Mors - Slightly larger than in the normal anime.**

* * *

 **These are just minor changes to the look for my fic, I also realized after the fact, but the look for Jean may have been heavily inspired by Lux from League of Legends.**

 **Tell me what you all think of the story, and throw me some Ideas for what you might like to see. The genders and species for all the villains and for team SSSN are still up in the air.**


	2. Initiation

**OK! So, I am loving the positive reception that this got on day one! I was honestly not too sure how people would react to the new Weiss and Jaune, and was surprised to see you guys accept Yang as a Dragon so easily. I expected a shit-storm for the last one. On top of that, I really wasn't too sure about the name 'Winston'. Don't get me wrong, I love the name, I just wasn't too sure it would fit as a replacement to Weiss.**

 **Also, to CathedralofFiction, I had no idea that Yang's name meant "Little Light Dragon", but thanks for the convenient trivia! I just made her a Dragon because she uses fire, and so I could have an excuse to give someone Dragon wings.**

 **I also want to say this... I could not, for the life of me, think of a good name to replace Pyrrha with, and still pay tribute to the Greek/Roman theme she has. So I want to thank Commander Ghost for the name 'Pyrrhus'. If I hadn't been given that name suggestion, then I would have gone with Pluto, the Roman god of the Underworld, and I just can't see that name on Pyrrha.**

 **I also got tired of the idea of Jean looking like Lux really fast. As I remembered, I really don't like Lux! (Was written after facing a very fed Lux.) So I found a new look for her. This one is significantly more similar to Jaune's actual look.**

 **DISCLAIMER! Fortunately for the rest of you, I do not! Own RWBY.**

* * *

 **Locker Room**

"I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Ooh! A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a Sloth?" The energetic orange haired girl asked as she bounced around the room, clearly on the biggest sugar-high in history.

"Nora?" The boy in traditional clothing asked.

"Yes Ren?" Nora asked.

Ren raised his arms and slid his weapons into his sleeves. "I don't think Sloth's make that much noise." He stated as he turned to Nora.

Nora paused as her eyes darted back and forth searching the room for some response before it hit her. Nora grinned. "That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!" She stated as Ren closed his locker.

He sighed. "Come on Nora, let's go." Ren said as he turned and walked past Ruby and Yang with Nora right behind him giggling.

Ruby gave them an odd look before turning back to her locker. "Wonder what those two are so worked up about." Ruby asked as she searched through her locker.

Yang shrugged and turned to Ruby with a grin. "Oh who knows. So, you seem awfully chipper this morning." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Ruby nodded with a chuckle. "Yep, no more small talk, or awkward getting to know you stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." She said as she caressed her weapon.

"Well remember Ruby, your not the only one going through initiation. If you want to grow up, your going to have to meet new people, and learn to work together." Yang said as she heard her sister groan in annoyance.

"You sound like dad." Ruby said as she placed her weapon in her locker. "Okay, first of all, what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink Milk." Ruby stated as she crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

Yang tilted her head to the side. "But what about when we form teams?" She asked.

Ruby frowned and turned away from her sister. "I don't know, I'll just be on your team or something." She said as she looked at her weapon.

Yang looked away from Ruby and brought her hair to the front as she smoothed it out. "Maybe you should try to be on someone else's team." She said, hoping Ruby wouldn't push the issue.

Ruby turned and got into Yang's face. "My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?" She asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

Yang put her hands up in a defensive manner. "What? No, of course I do! It's just that, I thought that it might help you break out of your shell." She said as she stepped back from Ruby.

"I don't need to break out of my shell!" Ruby shouted. "That's absolutely-"

"Ridiculous!" Jean finished as she stumbled past the two starring at a map of the locker room. "There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would have remembered having to count that high! Ooh, why does this have to happen today." She whined as she walked past Winston and another boy in red starring at each other with smug expressions.

Winston had his arms crossed over his chest as he starred at the boy in red and bronze. The boy's lower body from the waist down was heavily armored with bronze plating trailing the length of his legs, and a pair of black and gold combat boots on his feet. He wore a red overcoat, similar to Winston's own overcoat, with the sleeves ripped off at the shoulders, and a black belt wrapping around it at his waist, holding two red pouches, and a bronze disc. His torso was covered in some lighter armor, with a red leather with bronze trimmings trailing up to his neck. His arms each had a set of bracers that trailed from his elbow to his wrists, and he had a bronze band wrapped around his left bicep, and wore a bronze crown with a large emerald in the center. The boy had long red hair held back in a low ponytail behind his head.

"Pyrrhus Nikos. Four time champion of the Minstral regional tournament." Winston stated as he smiled at the boy before him.

"Winston Schnee. Heir to the Schnee Dust Company and present champion of the Atlas regional tournament." Pyrrhus stated as he smiled back, a confident grin on his face.

"I hear that they will be assigning us teams today at initiation." Winston said, never breaking eye contact.

Pyrrhus nodded. "I have heard the same."

Winston flashed a grin. "I was thinking that the two of us should team up. The two strongest first year students on the same team?" He said as he uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on his hips.

Pyrrhus laughed at Winston's attempt to team up with him. "That sounds like a grand idea." He said as he began to punch his code into his locker.

"Excellent." Winston said as he turned to his own locker.

"Winston!" A happy voice to the left shouted.

The boy turned to look for the person who had just called his name when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He immediately began to scowl. "Unhand me!" He shouted as he struggled free of the persons grip. Winston starred down at the girl before him before a look of realization dawned on his face. "Jean?" He asked.

Jean smiled. "Hey! I didn't think I'd see you here! I thought you'd be going to Atlas academy like your sister did!" She said with a smile.

Winston looked her up and down with surprise. "I'm shocked to see you here Jean. I've seen you fight, your really bad." He said flatly.

Jean pouted. "I'm not that bad!" She protested before the smile crept its way back onto her face. "So, how are your sisters?" She asked as she placed the map in her pocket.

Winston turned back to his locker and opened the door. "Winter is doing fine." He said as he pulled Myrtenaster and it's duplicate from their hooks.

Jean nodded. "That's good to hear. She's always so serious since she joined the army." She said as she looked at Winston's weapons.

"That happen's when you join a military." Winston said as he examined his swords.

"What about your little sister? I heard about the accident. She doing alright?" Jean asked, the concern in her voice showing through.

Winston paused, he brought his left hand up to the scar that cut across his eye and split his eyebrow. The faint feeling of the sword slashing across his face still was fresh in his memory. "She's fine."

Jean frowned. "That's good, what about you?" She asked.

Winston placed his weapons in their holsters and turned to Jean, a firm look on his face. "I am fine, end of the issue." He said as he looked her over again. "What the hell are you wearing?" He asked, seeing the blue jumpsuit she had under her armor.

"I... Um..." Jean said as she shifted nervously under Winston's gaze.

"You have one brother, and six sisters. I know, that they didn't tell you to wear a jumpsuit to school." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"My dad wanted me to wear it." She admitted. "He said that what my sisters chose for me was too revealing for someone like me." Jean said as she pulled out her scroll. "I still brought their choice along though if you want me to change."

Jean showed Winston a photo of her in the other attire. She had thigh-high leather boots, with similar armor over her chest and arms, but had a black hoodie and blue short shorts on instead of the blue jumpsuit. The blue band in her hair was also absent from the photo, her hair instead being held back by a braid.

Winston nodded. "Yes, please change into that. I can't stand to be seen standing close to that hideous jumpsuit!" He said as he pointed towards her locker.

Pyrrhus watched as Jean nodded and took off towards her locker without so much as a word of protest. He chuckled to himself as he placed his spear and shield on his back. "Picking out her outfits, Schnee? She your girlfriend?" Pyrrhus asked as he walked past the Heir.

Winston closed his locker and followed Pyrrhus towards the exit. "No... Just an old family friend." He said as they closed the door behind them.

Ruby and Yang walked past Jean who was changing into her alternate clothes and waved for her to follow when she was done.

* * *

 **Beacon Cliffs**

Each of the first year class stood on a stone platform on the edge of the cliff in a line, Ozpin and Glynda ahead of them with clipboards.

"For years you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin spoke as he raised his mug of coffee to his lips.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today." Glynda said as her eyes scanned over the students before her.

"What..." Ruby whined quietly as Ozpin began to speak again.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interests to be paired with someone with whom you work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

"What!" Ruby whined again, this time a bit more audibly.

"See I told you!" Nora said as she turned to Ren.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." Ozpin said as he looked to his new students.

Jean laughed nervously as she looked down the line of students.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Ozpin asked.

Jean raised her hand. "Yeah, um, sir?"

"Good!" Ozpin shouted as he ignored Jean. "Now, your positions."

As he finished, the students along the line got into various stances and braced themselves for what was to come next.

"Ah... Sir, I've got ah... A question." As Jean spoke the platform that Winston was on launched the boy high into the air, out over the forest. "So this, 'Landing Strategy' thing, ah what is it? Your like, dropping us off somewhere or?" She asked.

Ozpin shook his head as he looked to Jean. "No. You will be falling." He stated casually.

As he spoke, several other students were propelled into the air.

"Oh... I see, so did you like um, hand out parachutes for us?" She asked as Nora was launched with a loud cheer.

"No." Ozpin said as he took a drink from his mug. "You will be using your own landing strategy."

"Uh huh. That." She said as she nervously looked around her.

Yang turned to Ruby with a grin and placed a pair of sun glasses over her eyes before she was launched into the air, her wings sending her even higher.

"So, uh, what exactly is a landing strategYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?" Jean asked as she was launched into the distance, flailing her arms and legs as she flew.

Ozpin took another sip from his mug as he watched the students falling towards the forest. A thought crossed his mind and he turned to Glynda. "Did you ever notify Professor Thorne about my request to remove that Elder Deathstalker from the cave on the east side?"

Glynda froze.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

A crow was calmly flying across the sky above the forest as Ruby sailed into it with a shriek. She glided towards the forest floor, using bullets from Crescent Rose to slow her descent. As she reached the canopy, she latched her scythe around a tree branch and spun once before landing on the ground, not noticing the same branch falling to the ground behind her.

Winston drew both of his blades and created several Glyphs that he used to extend his flight across the tree tops before landing feet first against the trunk of an old elm tree. Pushing off with his legs the boy landed at the base of the tree and scanned his surroundings. He saw a yellow blur fly past overhead, followed by several explosions as Yang used Ember Celica to speed her descent. As she neared the ground, Yang redeployed her wings, causing them to act as parachutes, causing her feet to pass the rest of her from the sudden stop. Yang pulled her wings back in and landed the back flip with a grin before sprinting off into the trees.

Pyrrhus used his Akouo to brace himself as he crashed through the tops of the trees, rolling to a stop he drew Milo in its rifle form and scanned the immediate area. He turned and saw Jean rolling through the air. Moving quickly, Pyrrhus flipped Milo into spear form and hurled it towards Jean. After a few seconds he heard it hit it's mark.

 _"Thank you!"_ Jean yelled from across the forest.

"Sorry!" Pyrrhus yelled, hoping he hadn't hurt the girl.

Ruby was sprinting through the forest. 'Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang!' She thought as she raced through the bushes.

"Yang! YAAAAANG! Ruby called as she sprinted past trees and bushes.

'Ah this is bad! This is really bad!' She thought as she ran. 'What if I can't find her!? What if someone finds her first? There's always Jean... She's nice, and she's funny. I don't think she's very good in a fight though. Ooh! What about Blake! So mysterious, so calm. Plus she likes books! Then again I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her.' She frowned in annoyance as she tried to run faster.

'Okay... Who else do I know at this school? There's Yang, Jean, Blake and...' Her thought was cut short as she saw someone ahead of her. She slid to a stop and looked up to see Winston starring at her.

The two locked eyes and waited for the other to make the first move. Ruby smiled hesitantly.

"No." Winston said as he turned and walked away.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Ruby called as she watched Winston walk away. She looked to her feet in sadness. "We're supposed to be teammates."

Winston pushed aside the branches of the trees as he came to a clearing. He paused when he heard someone struggling. Looking above him he saw Jean in her alternate attire, hanging by the hood of her shirt that had been hit by Pyrrhus's spear. She looked down and laughed hesitantly.

A light blush crept onto Winston's face as he looked at her clothes. "I was wrong, your father was right, those clothes are to revealing." He said as he turned around and walked back the way he came. As he reached Ruby he grabbed her by the hood and dragged her along. "By no means does this make us friends."

But Ruby ignored him as she shouted for joy. "You came back!" She yelled.

"Wait! Winston! Who's gonna get me down from here!?" Jean called as Winston dragged Ruby out of sight.

"Jean?" She heard a voice call. Looking down she saw Pyrrhus come into view. "Who're you?" She asked.

"My name's Pyrrhus, and I believe you have something of mine." He said with a smirk as he pointed to Milo. "Got any spots left on your team?"

Jean pouted and crossed her arms over her chest as she hung. "Very funny." She muttered.

* * *

"What's the hurry!?" Ruby shouted as she followed Winston.

He looked back over his shoulder as he continued ahead. "I will not allow your slow pace to delay me from reaching my goal." He said as he turned to look ahead of him. "I swear if your pace affects MY grade I'll-" But he stopped abruptly as he was blocked by Ruby who suddenly appeared before him. "What the-!?"

"I'm not slow, see!" Ruby said as she pointed to herself. "No need to worry about me." She said with a grin.

Winston looked behind him. "When did you?" He asked, fairly puzzled by the girls display of speed.

"Winston, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people, doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters!" Ruby said as Winston crossed his arms with a scowl. "Your about to see a whole new side of me today Winston. And after it's all over, your gonna be like, 'Whoa, that Ruby girl is really, really, cool. And I wanna be her friend.'" Ruby said as she vanished from sight again.

Winston waved the rose petals away from his face as he looked to where he heard the bushes move. "I'm going to kill her before the end of the semester, I just know it." He scanned the area as the bushes continued to shift. "Ruby?" He asked aloud as he scanned the surrounding area. He heard a deep growling behind him. "Ruby!?" He called as he turned around.

He saw a Beowolf begin to emerge from the bushes and called for his partner, fearing for what may happen to his grade if his partner is killed, he called again to no avail. "RUBY!" He shouted as the Beowolf roared.

* * *

"Hello?" Yang called as she calmly walked through the forest searching for a partner. "Hello? I'm getting bored here! Anyone out there?" She shouted as she scanned the trees for a fellow student. She turned when she heard a rustling in the bushes behind her. "Is someone there?" She called as she walked to the bushes. As she reached them she moved them aside. "Ruby?" She asked. He eyes drifted up as she saw what was hiding. "Nope." She said popping the 'P'.

Yang rolled to the side as an Ursa tore through the bush into the clearing. She switched Ember Celica into it's combat form and rolled to avoid a second Ursa that attacked from behind her. Getting to her feet, Yang threw a punch at the Ursa that charged her, tossing it back to the other one. Seeing that it's ally failed, the first Ursa charged Yang, only to receive an uppercut and get kicked back to it's starting position.

"You wouldn't have happened to see a girl in a red hood did you?" She asked as the larger Ursa stood on it's hind legs and roared at her. "You could just say no." She said with a cocky grin as she dodged out of the way of another swipe.

Yang dodged back away from a side swipe and landed with her hands on her hips. Looking back at the two Grimm with a grin she laughed. "Geez, You two couldn't hit the broad side of a b-" She froze as she watched a single strand of hair fall past her face. Yang closed her eyes and looked to the ground.

"You..." She said as the two Grimm looked to each other in confusion. "YOU MONSTERS!" She shouted as she opened her eyes, the iris's now glowing red, and burst forward to strike the Grimm. She set upon the first Ursa with a strike to it's side, then an uppercut that threw it into the air. Using her gauntlets to throw herself forward, Yang met the Ursa in the air and unleashed a barrage of punches, reinforced by the shotguns on each wrist, finally ending after she punched the Ursa through a patch of trees.

The second Ursa ran over to Yang and stopped short and growled at her. Yang turned to the Ursa with an enraged look. "WHAT!? YOU WANT SOME TOO!?" She shouted as she cocked her gauntlets.

The Ursa stood on it's hind legs and roared down at her before something hit it in the back and it let out a pained grunt before falling on its belly. Standing behind the dead Ursa was Blake. Blake looked at Yang and tilted her head before pulling her weapon back to her and placing it on her back.

Yang let out a sigh and Blake smiled at her. "I could have taken him." She said with a shrug.

* * *

Winston was thrown back as a claw hit his left blade. As he slid, he tripped over the decaying corpse of another Beowolf he had killed only moments before. He climbed to his feet and scanned the area around him.

'7.' He thought. '7 Beowolves... Breathe, remember your training. Compared to what you faced before these animals are nothing.' Winston faced the largest Beowolf and placed one sword ahead of him, tip aimed at the Grimm, and held the other behind him. He focused his gaze on the large monster and saw several white Glyphs appear in a line before him.

Dashing forward in a sudden burst of speed, Winston closed the gap in a mere second and leapt into the air. He placed both swords over his right shoulder as he spun. Just as he prepared to strike, Ruby appeared ahead of him and slashed at his target, blocking him from hitting. Acting quickly, Winston swung both swords to the side, firing off two blasts of fire along separate trails.

One trail hit a Beowolf as it traveled, stopping the blast and killing the Grimm. Winston wasn't as lucky with the other one, as it traveled past the Grimm into the forest, setting some tree's ablaze.

Winston turned ahead in time to see Ruby get thrown into him by the large Beowolf. "You stupid Faunus! What were you doing!? I had him!"

Ruby got up off the ground and glared at Winston. "Hey, watch it!" She shouted.

Winston grabbed Ruby by the collar of her shirt and brought her to his face. "We're going to have a nice long talk about timing your attack so that your partner doesn't almost kill you later, but right now we need to leave!" He shouted as he dragged her away from the spreading fire, the Beowolves howling as their prey escaped past a sea of flames.

The two reached a safe distance from the fire and stopped to catch their breath. Ruby turned to look at Winston with frustration. "What was that?! That should have been easy!" She stated as she looked to Winston.

"Well," Winston started as he glared down at the smaller girl. "Perhaps it would have been over far sooner if you hadn't jumped right into the path of my attack, and cause me to set the forest on fire!" He shouted as he walked towards her.

Ruby clicked her tongue. "What's that supposed to mean!?" She demanded.

Winston brought his hand to his head in irritation. "I'm shocked to see that someone like you made it into Beacon with communication skills that bad!" He shouted.

"You didn't say anything to me either!" She protested.

"You were gone!" Winston shouted. "You vanished just before they showed up and only came back in time for me to nearly kill you with Myrtenaster!" He shouted as he walked closer to Ruby.

"Well I'm sorry that you need my help to win a fight, I'm just fine on my own!" Ruby shouted back as he approached.

"What you did back there was reckless and stupid!" Winston shouted. "You aren't ready for this school! You're some child who got lucky and snuck their way into Beacon!" He shouted as he passed her and continued on into the bushes, walking away from the burning forest.

Ruby looked in the direction he had walked and growled loudly as she slashed through the trunk of a tree with Crescent Rose. Walking away from the falling tree, Ruby failed to notice the massive feather that fell with it.

* * *

Jean and Pyrrhus trudged through the underbrush as they made their way in the direction that they thought the temple laid. There was a couple of explosions in the distance as they walked.

"D-did you hear that?" Jean asked as she looked in the direction of the noise.

Pyrrhus turned in the direction and listened again. "Gunfire. It appears some of our comrades have engaged the enemy." He said as he used Akouo to push a branch aside.

Jean followed closely, and was hit in the face by the branch as it swung back. "Gah!" She shouted as she fell back into the dirt.

"Jean! Oh man, I'm sorry." Pyrrhus said as he helped her to her feet, noticing the cut on her cheek. "Jean, why didn't you activate your Aura?" Pyrrhus asked as he looked at her cut.

"My what?" Jean asked as Pyrrhus walked closer.

"Your Aura." He said again.

"Gesundheit." She said.

"Jean, do you know what Aura is?" Pyrrhus asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"Uhh..." Was all she could say before she shook her head.

Pyrrhus gave her a shocked look. "To make it into Beacon with no help from your Aura... You must be one incredible fighter Jean." He concluded as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah... Something like that." Jean said as she rubbed her arm. Jean looked to Pyrrhus with a questioning stare. "So, what is Aura?" She asked.

"Aura is the manifestation of our Soul. It bears our burdens and shield's our hearts. Have you ever felt like you were being watched without knowing someone was there?" Pyrrhus asked.

Jean nodded. "Yeah, sometimes." She said.

"With practice, our Aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals." He said.

Jean tilted her head to the side. "What about monster?" She asked.

Pyrrhus shook his head. "No, the monsters we fight have no Soul. They are creatures of Grimm, the manifestation of anonymity. They are the darkness and we are the light." He said as he turned to face Jean.

She nodded her head. "Right! That's why we fight them." She said.

Pyrrhus shook his head. "It's not about why, it's about knowing. Understanding both dark and light helps us manifest our Aura. Everyone has some of both. By bearing your soul outwards as a force, you can deflect harm. All of our tools and weapons are conduits or Aura. You project yourself and your Soul when fighting." He finished.

Pyrrhus could see the gears turning as Jean tried to wrap her head around the concept. "It's like a force field!" She shouted.

Pyrrhus smiled slightly. "Yes, I suppose you could look at it that way." He said as he walked up to Jean. Pyrrhus raised his hand to her cheek and spoke again. "Now close your eyes and concentrate."

Jean blushed slightly from the close proximity, but closed her eyes anyway.

Pyrrhus began to glow as he recited the ancient chant he had been taught as a child. "For it is passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite and distanced and unbound by death. I release your soul. And by my shoulder protect thee." As he finished Jean glowed brightly and opened her eyes to see Pyrrhus hunched over like he was in pain.

"Pyrrhus?!" She called as she reached out for his shoulder.

He waved his hand as he rose back to full height. "It's alright, I used my Aura to unlock yours. But now the energy that protects you is your own." He finished with a smile. "You have a-lot of it." He said as he watched her cut heal over in an instant.

Jean looked herself over before turning back to Pyrrhus. "Thanks."

* * *

 **Beacon Cliffs**

"Our last pair has been formed sir. Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren." Glynda said as she looked down at her scroll. "Poor boy, I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Mr. Nikos."

"Hmm?" Ozpin said as he glanced to her.

"I don't care what her transcripts say. Jean is not ready for this level of combat. Her mother will have my head if she gets hurt." Glynda said as she powered down her scroll. "Oh well, I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace they should reach the temple in just a few minutes." Glynda turned to look at the headmaster as he stood on the cliff. "Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year? Professor Ozpin?" She called.

"Nope. No answer for you. I wanted that Deathstalker gone before the school year started and you forgot to tell Professor Thorne." Ozpin said as he watched the various teams on his scroll.

Glynda frowned as she stared Ozpin, who he himself was watching Ruby and Winston attempt to find the correct path to the temple..

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

"It's this way." Winston said as he pointed off to the east. "Or is it that way?" He asked as he spun in place.

Ruby giggled. "Look's like your not the best at everything after all huh?" She said as she turned to look at the confused Winston.

He scowled. "Navigation was never my strong suit." A small grin crept onto Winston's face as he turned to Ruby. "You know, they say that most animals are naturally good at locating landmarks." He said as he stared down at Ruby, who was sitting cross legged on the ground, looking back up at him.

A look of confusion crossed Ruby's face. "What does that have to do with anything?" She asked.

Winston smiled smugly and looked down at her. "You are an animal, so do some tracking." He said.

Ruby glared up at him as her ears pressed themselves against her skull. "Why are you always so mean?" Ruby asked as she got to her feet to get into his face, which was a challenge in it's own regard as the boy stood a good foot taller than her.

Winston waved his hand as he brushed aside the comment. "I'm just stating a fact." He said as he smiled down at Ruby. "Your a cat, so go and climb that tree and tell me where we are."

The racist remarks were beginning to get on Ruby's nerves as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not an animal. I'm a person, and I don't climb trees!" She shouted.

Winston tilted his head to the side. "Then what are those?" He asked sarcastically as he pointed to her ears. "Because, Human's sure don't have them. Only animals have ears like that." He said as he crossed his own arms.

"I'm not a Human, I'm a Faunus! Not some damn animal!" She yelled as she pointed a finger at his chest. "Stop treating me like I'm any less than you!" She shouted.

Winston focused his gaze on Ruby as he continued to grin. "But you are less than me." He stated. "I'm a Human, and the Heir to the largest dust production company in the world!" He said as he turned and raised his arms out to the side. "I have received training since I could walk to be the best of the best in everything from combat to creative literature!"

Ruby scowled. "So what, you think that makes you perfect?" She asked.

Winston shook his head. "No, I'm not perfect. Not Yet anyway. But I'm still leagues better than you." He finished as he turned to walk away.

Ruby frowned as she watched him walk away, the racial comments doing their job well. "You don't even know me." She said sadly as she started to walk after him.

* * *

Blake and Yang exited the forest and came to a large clearing over looking the temple containing the relics they were all searching for.

"Think this is it?" Yang asked.

Blake looked at her with a blank stare. "No." She said as she walked down the hill toward the temple with Yang in tow. As she entered the temple she saw the relics sitting on the pedestals and frowned. "Chess piece's?" She said aloud.

"Some of them have already been taken." Yang said as she looked around at the empty pedestals. "Guess we weren't the first ones here."

Blake turned and scanned over each of the piece's before looking to Yang. "Well... I guess we should pick one." She stated as she walked towards her partner.

* * *

"Think this is the place?" Jean asked as she and Pyrrhus approached a cave with drawings on the exterior.

Jean grabbed some dry moss from a nearby rock and fashioned it into a torch, then they entered the cave. Pyrrhus walked behind her with his weapon at the ready.

"I don't think this is it." He said as his eyes scanned the cave for any sign of the relics.

Jean sighed. "Pyrrhus, I made the torch, can you at least humor me for maybe, 5 more feet?" She asked as she glanced back at Pyrrhus. Looking back ahead of her, she was promptly met with a rock in her path and fell, dropping the torch in water.

Pyrrhus and Jean were now in complete darkness as the torch had been extinguished. His eyes darted around as he spoke. "Do you... Feel that?" He asked as he searched for the source of the heat he was feeling.

Jean however seemed more depressed by the torch. "Soul crushing regret?" She asked.

Pyrrhus shook his head. "No, it's warm..." He said.

* * *

"How about a cute pony!" Yang yelled as she lifted the first white knight into the air.

Blake rolled her eyes with a smile. "Sure, why not." She said as she walked over to Yang.

"That wasn't so hard!" Yang said as she grinned from ear to ear.

Blake gave an amused smile. "It's not like this place is very hard to find. Especially when you have wings and search from the sky." She finished as she pointed to the talon that she could see over Yang's shoulder.

Yang grinned at her as they looked over to the forest.

* * *

Jean and Pyrrhus walked deeper into the cave as they searched for the relics. As they turned the corner they saw before them, a massive light source hanging in the center of the room.

Jean looked excited as she spoke. "That's the relic!" She shouted as she reached out for the light. As her hand got close, the light moved back, frustrating her. "Hey! Bad relic!" She said as she jumped towards it and latched on. "Got it!" She stated.

Pyrrhus froze, the realization dawning on him just a bit too late. "Jean..." He said as he watched the light move higher, then several lines and eyes that glowed red appeared against the darkness.

Jean let out a terrified shriek.

* * *

Yang turned when she heard the shriek and scanned the tree line. "Some girl's in trouble!" She shouted.

Blake however was more interested in the large dark spot she spotted above them.

"Blake did you hear that?!" Yang asked as she turned to her.

* * *

Pyrrhus sprinted out of the entrance to the cave, the giant Deathstalker following immediately behind him as it burst through the stone wall.

Jean was still hanging from the stinger as she was waved around in the air.

"PYRRHUS! IT'S NOT THE RELIC! IT'S NOT!" She shouted as she was shaken back and forth by the large Grimm. "DO SOMETHING!" She pleaded.

"Jean!" Pyrrhus shouted. "Whatever you do, don't let-" But he was cut off as the Deathstalker whipped Jean out across the forest. Pyrrhus watched as his partner sailed over the tree's and out of sight. "-Go..."

He heard the clicking of the Grimm's claws as it stared down at him. He backed up slightly as he held his spear before him. "I just want you to know! I'm not retreating!" He shouted as he pointed his spear toward the Grimm. "I'm simply advancing in the opposite direction!" He shouted before he sprinted off into the tree's.

The Deathstalker twitched in annoyance as it let out a shriek and gave chase.

* * *

Winston was clinging to the tail feathers of a giant Nevermore as he and Ruby rode the Grimm across the sky.

"How the hell did I let you talk me into this!?" He shouted over the wind. "This was a terrible idea!"

Ruby braced herself against the wind and shouted back. "We're fine! Stop worrying!"

Winston's eye twitched with annoyance. "I am so far beyond worrying!" He shouted.

Ruby raised an eyebrow in confusion. "In a good way?" She yelled.

"NO!" He retorted.

Ruby shrugged. "Well then Why don't we just jump!?" She yelled.

"What are you? Insane!" He shouted, only to look down and see that Ruby was gone. "Oh you stupid little-!"

* * *

"Blake did you hear that? What should we do?" Yang asked as she turned to her partner, only to see her staring into the sky with an expression of complete surprise. She pointed to the sky and Yang turned to see Ruby falling towards her.

She moved to catch her, until she saw Jean appear from out of nowhere and send them both crashing into the tree's.

Ruby's head was spinning as she grabbed the tree branch she sat on. "Ooh... What was that?" She asked.

"Ahem." She heard. Looking up she saw Jean hanging upside down from the branch above her. "Hey Ruby." She said.

Blake and Yang stared at the tree's where Ruby and Jean had just landed. "Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked.

Yang was equally if not more shocked than Blake as she responded. "I..."

They turned when they heard a crashing sound and saw an Ursa burst through the tree line before falling over dead, Nora rolling off of the deceased creature.

"Aww... It's broken." She said as she moved quickly back onto it's head.

Ren appeared from behind it shortly after as he leaned against it to catch his breath. "Nora! Please, don't ever do that again." He said as he turned to face the girl, only to find her gone. "Nora?" He called.

Nora had found her way to the temple and taken a shine to the white Rook. She grabbed it with a big smile. "I'm queen of the castle! I'm Queen of the castle!" She sang.

"NORA!" Ren shouted, interrupting her dance.

She smiled sheepishly. "Coming Ren!" She shouted as she ran back to her partner.

Blake looked at her with shock as she turned to Yang. "Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" She asked.

"I..."

They turned when they heard a shriek and saw Pyrrhus burst through the tree's with a Giant Deathstalker on his tail as the boy dodged around it's claws.

"Pyrrhus!" Jean called. She heard some shuffling and saw Ruby get to her feet before jumping out of the tree. "Ruby!

"Ruby?" Yang asked as she turned, seeing her sister before her.

Ruby smiled. "Yang!" She yelled as she tried to pull her into a hug, only for the moment to be interrupted by an over energetic orange.

"NORA!" She shouted as she leapt between them.

Blake turned back to look at Pyrrhus. "Did he just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on his tail?" She asked.

Yang twitched a couple of times before she screamed. "I can't take it anymore! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again!?" She yelled as her eyes flashed red and her hair ignited.

...

...

...

"Um... Yang?" Ruby said, causing the older girls shoulders to slouch in defeat. She pointed up into the air where Winston was still clinging to the Nevermore.

He scowled as he clung to the feather. "I swear when I get my hands on you!" He called.

"I said jump." Ruby said with a frown.

"He's gonna fall." Blake said plainly.

"He'll be fine." Ruby said.

"He's falling." Ren said as he watched the feather Winston was holding onto detach from the rest.

As Winston fell he drew his swords and started to create Glyphs to slow his descent. They didn't do much to slow him, but they did get him to an angle where he could hit the ground and roll. Winston reached the ground and began to bounce and crash along the ground before his back hit the tree Jean was in, causing her to fall on his chest.

Jean looked down to see what she had fallen on, and notice Winston was groaning in pain. "Winston! Are you alright?" She asked as she turned his head to face her.

Winston weakly pointed past her. Jean turned to see what the problem was. While the crash, and Jean landing on him, had no doubt caused some discomfort, it was more about where Crocea Mors had landed when it fell with her. The sheath had fallen directly on the poor boys groin.

Winston snapped his fingers and a glyph appeared that threw Jean off of him. He sat forward and winced. "I can't help but feel I deserved that." He said as he used his left Myrtenaster to climb to his feet.

There was a clang off to the far right as Pyrrhus was thrown to the group and landed with a crash.

"Great, the gang's all here. Now we can die together." Yang said sarcastically as she looked to the group.

"Not if I can help it." Ruby said as she sprinted off towards the Deathstalker.

"Ruby wait!" Yang called, knowing the large Grimm was too much for the little girl.

Ruby propelled herself forward with her gun, and swung at the beast, only for it to slap her aside with it's claw.

"D-don't worry! Totally fine!" She called as she turned back to the Deathstalker and shot once before running away. Ruby folded Crescent Rose into it's inactive form before running towards Yang, who was herself running to Ruby.

There was a screech above them as the Nevermore dove and hurled a barrage of feather down toward the girls, it's feathers succeeding in blocking Yang, and trapping Ruby.

Ruby tried tugging on her cloak as it was speared by the feather. "Ruby! Get out of there!" Yang shouted.

"I'm trying!" She shouted back as she turned to see the Deathstalker walk up to her and rear back with it's stinger.

Yang looked on in horror as the Grimm brought it's stinger down on her sister, only for a white blur to speed past her.

Ruby closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

"You are so childish!"

Ruby opened her eye's and looked up to see Winston standing between her and the Deathstalker. One sword in the ground freezing the area around them, the other stuck into the farthest left eye of the Grimm.

"Winston?" She asked.

"And dimwitted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on how you fight!" He said as Ruby looked up at him.

"But I thought you hated Faunus." She said as she tilted her head to the side.

Winston nodded. "I do. You are no exception, nor is your sister. But if we are to be partners for the next four years, then it would look very bad if I allowed for you to die before we even had a single class." He said as he looked down at her. Winston drew back his blade from the Grimm, and from the ground and holstered them before holding out a hand to Ruby.

"Now I suppose I can be a bit..." Winston paused as he searched for the right word. Ruby knew the right word, but Yang would scold her is she said it. "Difficult." He said as he looked down at her. "But if you quit trying to show off, then maybe these next four years can go a bit more smoothly."

Ruby took his hand and got to her feet. "So we can be friend's then?" She asked, some hope in her eyes.

Winston scowled again. "Don't push it." He said as he walked past her.

Yang grabbed Ruby as she passed Winston. "I'm so happy your okay!" She said.

"Guys, that thing's circling back around!" Jean said as she pointed at the Nevermore. "What are we gonna do?"

Winston stepped forward and grabbed the last White Knight. "There's no sense in waiting around, the objective is right before us." He said as he tossed the piece to Ruby.

She nodded. "He's right, our mission is to get an artifact and make it back to the cliff." She said as she turned to the group. "There's no point in fighting these guys."

Jean nodded. "Run and live. That is an idea I can get behind." She said as she grabbed the other White Rook.

Ren looked and saw the Deathstalker beginning to break free of the ice. "It's time we left!"

"Right, lets go!" Ruby shouted as she took point over the hill.

Yang watched with a smile as her sister reached the top of the hill and turned back to look at the group. Blake stopped to look at her. "What is it?" She asked.

Yang shook her head and unfurled her wings. "It's nothing." She said as she took to the sky above the group.

* * *

 **This chapter was far more exhausting to write than the last one, as it finally started to get warm out side, and I have a house with no damn AC.**

 **So Ren and Nora are both Human. The randomizer decided to leave those two and Blake the same as they were. No changes to the cosmetic look of the weapons for this chapter.**

 **For those of you that may be concerned, fear not. The battle with the Giant Grimm will be in the next chapter. I'm not going to skip over that just to save some time.**

 **As always, leave me a review if you have any questions or suggestions and I will try to answer or implement them in future chapters.**


	3. Team RWBY is Formed

**Initially, I had plans for this chapter to go up sooner than it did... But I got caught up in some of the games I bought. Decided that I would finally beat the campaign for COD Black Ops III though, so I'll likely pause this chapter halfway through and go do that, once it's done being installed anyway. None of you will notice the pause break though, you'll just see the full chapter as I wrote it, and assume that at some point I broke away to shoot at what ever the enemies are in the new COD games. Are they still Nazi? Like really future Nazi's? I don't think so...**

 **None the less! I have delayed this chapter long enough. My goal is to squeeze a minimum of three episodes into a chapter, or for bigger parts of the anime, such as the dock fight, I may stop just before and make that into a whole chapter.**

 **DISCLAIMER! I'm not sure... But there is a really good chance that I don't own RWBY... Let me check... Nope, don't own it.**

* * *

 **Emerald Forest**

Yang's wings pushed her forward as she soared above the group searching for a good place to climb the cliff. She was getting increasingly annoyed by the Nevermore on her tail, but she could do nothing to a Grimm of that size, not alone at least, the best she could do was out run it. Seeing some ruins ahead for them to hide in to avoid the Nevermore, Yang signaled to the group to veer to the left as she flew in for a landing.

As Yang reached the group, Winston turned to look at her. "What did you see?" He asked.

Yang pointed to the northeast. "I saw some ruins that we can use to shake off the Nevermore. This way!" She said as she ran past him, the rest of the group behind her.

As the group exited the forest, they came across a large area covered in what could only be described as an ancient amphitheater below the cliff. Each of the students took cover behind the various pillars that dotted the path leading to a bridge as the Nevermore flew past and landed atop the spire. The Large Grimm scanned the area below and let out a loud screech.

Yang scowled as she saw the large bird land. "Well great. What do we do now?" She asked.

There was a loud shriek from behind the group as the Deathstalker burst from the forest and shrieked.

"Aww man, run!" Jean yelled as she and Pyrrhus broke cover and made a break for the bridge, the rest of the group close behind.

Seeing the students run into the open, the Nevermore screeched again and took the the air.

"Nora, distract it!" Ren shouted as he ran from his cover towards the bridge.

Nora grinned and ran into the middle of the clearing, dodging a barrage of feathers as she went. When she reached the center of the clearing she turned and began to fire Magnhild into the air around the Nevermore.

After being peppered with several blasts from the grenades, the Nevermore decided to retreat from the fight in favor of finding a new angle to strike from. She heard a hissing from behind and turned to see the Deathstalker bearing down on her.

As Nora moved to brace herself, Blake and Ren appeared and slashed the Grimm across the bone armor on it's face, while Winston grabbed Nora and propelled the two towards the bridge with the others.

Pyrrhus made it to the bridge and turned to see the Deathstalker top the hill behind Ren and Blake. "GO! GO! GO!" He shouted as he placed Akouo on his back and flipped Milo into it's rifle mode and began to fire on the Grimm. As the rest reached the bridge, Ren spun and began to fire Stormflower in hopes of buying his group any extra time he could. As the Deathstalker reached the bridge, it was forced to stop, as the sheer size of the monster could not fit on the small path.

Everyone turned to run across the bridge while the Deathstalker was trapped, but only succeeded in making it half way, as the Nevermore returned and smashed through the bridge, separating the group in two. While Pyrrhus, Blake and Ren were trapped with the Deathstalker, Ruby, Yang, Nora, Jean and, Winston were stuck with the Nevermore.

Ruby began to take shots at the Grimm as it moved beyond the cliff. Jean climbed to her feet and saw Ren and Pyrrhus firing at the Deathstalker while Blake did the best she could with Gambol Shroud. She watched as Blake was tossed back behind the other two before sliding nearly over the edge.

"We need to get over there! They need help!" She shouted as she and Nora moved to the edge of the broken bridge.

Nora nodded and cocked her weapon. "Let's do this!" She said.

Jean frowned and looked down. "Yeah... But, uh... I can't make that jump." She said.

Nora paused for only a moment before an evil idea crossed her mind. Looking back to Jean with a grin, Nora swung Magnhild around, hitting Jean in the gut and causing her to fall back, before running to the edge and leaping into the air.

Jean, thinking she was going to try to jump the gap, panicked. "No! Nora wait!" She shouted before seeing her twist around in midair and swing her hammer down on the edge of the break. The realization of what she had planned was even more terrifying than thinking she was going to jump alone. Jean let out a shrill shriek as she flew through the air over the gap. Nora climbed atop her hammer and pulled the trigger, causing the resulting explosion to blow her across the gap.

Jean crashed into the stone behind Pyrrhus as Nora sailed over the group and brought Magnhild down on the top of the Grimm's head. The hit seemed to annoy it more than anything else, as when it felt her, it instantly drew back with it's tail. Nora saw the tail pull back, and shot once more to get herself out of the path of the strike. The explosion managed to cause the Grimm to miss, as the stinger only brushed Nora, causing her to slide back into Blake and knock her off of the path with a surprised gasp.

Blake rolled a few times through the air as she fell. Looking to where she assumed was up, she threw Gambol Shroud onto a stone pillar and used the ribbon to swing herself back towards the fight, this time, with Yang, Ruby and, Winston. She pulled on the ribbon to throw herself into the path of the Nevermore. Activating her Semblance, she slashed across the Grimm's mask several times before flashing to the back of it's head and sprinting along it's back, slashing into it's spine as she ran. She leapt off of the Grimm before it could fly away from the ruins and aimed for the pillars with the other students.

Landing on the pillars with the rest of her group, she turned to look up at the Nevermore. "It's tougher than it looks!" She shouted.

Yang glared up at the monster. "Then let's hit it with everything we've got!" She said as she switched Ember Celica into it's combat mode.

The team of four each transformed or loaded their weapons before they started to fire at the approaching Grimm. Blake and Ruby stood with the barrel of their weapon's aimed at the Nevermore as it made it's approach, while Yang threw one punch after the other to discharge her weapons. Winston had sheathed his second blade and held the first in his right hand. Blade extended forward with his opposite hand bracing his arm just above the wrist he began to fire off a barrage of dust laced projectiles.

The Nevermore drew close to the group and smashed through the ruins yet again, this time through the tower at the center of the bridge. Blake, Ruby and Winston began to jump and run along the falling stones as they made their way back to the bridge, while Yang took to the air chasing the Grimm. She got close and landed on it's back and delivered several point blank shots to the Grimm's spine near where Blake had been slashing.

The Nevermore shook itself in an attempt to remove the annoying student from it.

Yang fell off of the creature, and used her wings to haul herself back into the air as she kept a consistent distance behind it.

"Yang!" She heard Ruby yell. She turned to look at Ruby and saw her pointing up. "Golden Fist!" She shouted.

Yang grinned and gave her a thumbs up, not even realizing there was no way for her sister to see the gesture, and turned to climb higher into the sky.

Winston turned to Ruby as he saw Yang break off her assault and fly into the air. "What is she doing!?" He shouted. "She's abandoning us!"

Ruby shook her head. "No, she's preparing her attack!" Ruby said as she turned and saw Blake swing herself back onto the bridge.

* * *

The Deathstalker slammed it's stinger into the end of the bridge in an attempt to cause the students to fall into the abyss below.

Jean turned to look at her group. "We gotta move!" She shouted as they charged the Grimm.

Seeing the student's approaching, the Deathstalker attempted to strike at Pyrrhus with it's claw. Pyrrhus saw the claw swinging towards him and slid below the claw, using Akouo to push it away as he slashed at the underside of it with Milo. The Deathstalker attempted to strike with the other claw, but met with similar results as Jean blocked it with Crocea Mors.

Ren ran at the Grimm from the front as he fired Stormflower. Seeing the easy target, the Deathstalker struck out with it's stinger, but found that the boy was very quick on his feet, as Ren latched onto the stinger as the Grimm withdrew it. Ren began to shoot the base of the stinger, just where it connect's with the tail.

Jean and Pyrrhus were slashing at the Grimm's claws as Ren was swung around in an attempt to remove him. Nora began to fire grenades towards the large Grimm while Ren had it distracted. The Deathstalker brought it's claws forward to block the grenades, causing Jean and Pyrrhus to be pushed back. As the grenades forced the claws to separate, Pyrrhus used his chance to hurl Milo at the beast, causing the spear to embed itself in one the Grimm's eyes.

The pain from the spear caused the Grimm to flail about, throwing Ren off of it, and into one of the pillars behind the fight.

"Ren!" Nora cried as she watched him crash into it and fall to the ground.

Jean crawled to her feet and looked up to see the stinger on the Deathstalker's tail hanging on by a thread. He turned to his partner. "Pyrrhus!"

He nodded. "Done!" He said as he hurled Akouo at the Grimm. The Shield sliced through the remnant's of the tail with ease, before bouncing off one of the pillars around it and returning to it's master.

The stinger fell and embedded itself in the top of the Grimm's mask, the Deathstalker letting out a shrill shriek from the sudden pain.

Jean turned to Nora. "Nora now!" She shouted.

"Head's up!" She said as she jumped onto Pyrrhus's shield. Pyrrhus got to his knee's, before leaping into the air as he augmented the force of the blast from Magnhild. Nora sailed through the air with a happy laugh before turning and firing, causing her to spin down towards the Grimm. As she hit the top of the stinger, she drove it through the Grimm, and broke the bridge farther, causing Jean and Pyrrhus to be thrown over the dead Grimm. Looking ahead, she fired again as Pyrrhus retrieved Milo and launched the Deathstalker down off the cliff.

She and the other's landed as Ren limped over to them before collapsing, then turned to see how the other's were fairing.

* * *

Winston had his arm extended as he provided Ruby with covering fire to set her plan into motion. Beams of all colors hit or flew past the Nevermore as the giant Grimm turned to attack the tower again. Winston looked up at the giant with a look of annoyance and used a Glyph to jump away from the pillar he was on, only to notice that he didn't have a place to land.

"Shit!" He shouted as he began to fall, slowly tumbling through the air.

"GERONIMO!" A voice shouted as it traveled the length of the canyon.

Everyone searched the area for the sound of the voice as the Nevermore circled around for a second strike at Winston.

A moment later a yellow beam shot out of the clouds and tore through the wing of the Nevermore before hitting Winston and turning 90 degrees and shooting back into the air.

Winston could swear he felt his arm break as the yellow light hit him. Upon further investigation, and the light dying down, Winston found that the beam was Yang, who had just saved his life.

"Yang!?" He shouted in shock as he watched the Nevermore crash into the cliff with it's broken wing.

"Explanations later!" She shouted as she swung around and hurled Winston towards the Nevermore.

Winston sped through the air like a bullet as he approached the Nevermore. He saw that it was attempting to take flight again, and notice that Ruby and Blake were ready to set off the trap. As he got close, Winston drew his second blade and spun around before slamming his swords into the ground around it's tail feathers, causing the area around to freeze, trapping the Grimm.

Yang flew around to the side opposite Blake, and caught Gambol Shroud. She stabbed the blade into the back of the pillar and grabbed the ribbon. Ruby jumped into the air and landed on the Ribbon just as Winston slid back to the group and caught Ruby with his Glyph.

He glanced to Ruby while aiming her towards the Grimm. "This has got to be the most absurd plan I've ever been a part of." He said.

Ruby smiled. "Think you can make the shot?" She asked.

He smiled smugly. "Can I." He said.

Ruby tilted her head to the side before looking over to Winston. "Can you?" She asked.

Winston's eye twitched as he glared at the Nevermore. "Beset on all sides by idiots." He grumbled.

Ruby smiled again as she loaded a bullet. Winston spun in place once before the tip of his blades caught the edge of the Glyph and sent Ruby flying across the gap. Ruby fired Crescent Rose several times as she flew, forcing Winston to dive into cover to avoid being hit by the stray shots, before hooking the Grimm by it's neck and dragging it to the cliff wall. Winston quickly made a trail of speed Glyphs that lead up the face of the cliff, before watching in shock as Ruby dragged the giant Grimm up the cliff along side her.

As Ruby reached the top of the cliff, she fired Crescent Rose one final time, causing the blade to dig into the beasts neck and sever the creatures head as she landed at the top of the cliff, the head of the Nevermore landing off to the side.

Jean and the rest of the students watched in awe as the body of the Nevermore fell from the top of the cliff.

"Whoa..." Jean said as she saw Ruby walk into view and raise her scythe above her head in triumph.

Winston and Blake stood there in awe as Yang walked up behind them, staring up at her sister.

"Well... That was a thing." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Blake looked around at the tower they were on. They had destroyed the first bridge when the Nevermore attacked them, and now the corpse had broken the other side as it fell, leaving the three trapped.

"So... Any idea's on how were gonna get up there?" She asked.

Without missing a beat, Winston turned to Yang. "You have wings. Carry us." He said with a straight face.

* * *

 **Beacon Cliff**

"Well, it looks like they made it. It would appear that they also took care of the Deathstalker for you." Glynda said as she watched the teams climb the cliff on her scroll.

Ozpin nodded. "Indeed. The teams are going to be interesting this year." He said before turning to Glynda. "But no, that was not the Deathstalker I was referring to." He finished.

Glynda gave him a confused stare. "It wasn't? But that was a Giant Deathstalker." She said.

He nodded. "Yes, I know. However, the one I asked for Professor Throne to kill, is a Deathstalker Elder. I wanted it dead before the initiation, so that it didn't kill any students." Ozpin said as he turned away and began to walk back towards the school.

Glynda gave him a surprised look before turning to look out over the forest. "An Elder? Here?" She asked herself before pulling out her scroll.

"Professor Thorne? I'm sorry to wake you Leo, but Ozpin has some urgent business for you to take care of." She said as she began to follow Ozpin.

* * *

 **Assembly Hall**

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the Black Bishop pieces. From this day forward you shall work together as, team CRDL. Lead by, Cardin Winchester." Ozpin said as he looked at the newly formed team. The crowd applauded them as the four turned to leave the stage, and Ozpin looked to the next group of students.

"Jean Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrhus Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the White Rook Pieces. From this day forward, you shall work together as, team JNPR. Lead by, Jean Arc." Ozpin finished as Nora hugged Ren.

"Huh!?" Jean said as she starred at Ozpin in shock. "Lead by..." She said as she pointed to herself.

Ozpin nodded. "Congratulations young lady." He said.

Pyrrhus laughed happily as he patted Jean on the back, the force of the hit causing the girl to fall and the crowd to laugh.

Ozpin smiled and turned to look at the last group of students.

"And finally, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Winston Schnee, and Yang Xiao-Long. The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward you shall work together as, team RWBY. Lead by... Ruby Rose." He said.

Ruby and Winston's jaws dropped in shock as they looked at Ozpin.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang shouted as she pulled Ruby into a hug.

Ozpin chuckled and looked out the window at the shattered moon. "Look's like things are shaping up to be an interesting year." He mussed to himself.

* * *

 **Abandoned Warehouse**

Roman stood with one hand on the table, and the other holding his scroll to his ear.

He slammed the scroll down on the table and groaned in frustration. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved his lighter and a cigar before bringing both to his mouth. He lit the cigar and turned to see a man roll a cart over to him.

He nodded to the man and handed him a handful of Lien Cards. "Open it." He ordered.

The man nodded and opened the case atop the cart. Inside the case were rows of Dust crystals of all different colors. Roman pulled a purple crystal out and examined it for a moment before looking up and pausing.

"We're gonna need more men." He said ominously.

* * *

 **Emerald Forest East Cave**

An extremely large figure trudged out of the cave, blood dripping off of the ends of its clawed hands. It carried with it a corpse that was refusing to decay. It was the corpse of a Deathstalker, this one several times larger that the one that JNPR had killed hours prior to the north. The large figure turned and let our a low growl towards the treeline, scarring away some nearby Ursa.

The monster dragged the beat up corpse into the open before examining it's kill. The Deathstalker Elder was several times larger than that of a normal Giant Deathstalker, and had far more armor, making them into a walking fortress, along with having enough poison to kill a Human in seconds, assuming you managed to survive being hit by any of the barbs, as each was the size of a shortsword.

There was a quiet ringing that danced across the open field as the moon light lit the area. The creature reached over to a massive suit of Atlesian armor and tapped it on the shoulder, causing it to light up.

"Wh-what! Ah, yes I'm awake now. Have you finished with our task?"

The monster lifted the claw of the Grimm and placed it beside the suit of armor with a grunt.

 **"Yeah, we got it. Just one issue, it's not decaying."**

"Oh dear. Well, I'd best tell Ozpin to find some storage space. Good work Thorne."

* * *

 **RWBY Dorm**

The sunlight poured through the windows as the newly formed team slept, or Winston slept at least. The others had neglected to wake him as they got themselves dressed before Ruby crept up to his bed and got right next to his ear. She grinned as she took a deep breath and blew into the whistle she was holding.

"GAH!" He shouted as he jumped out of his bed and grabbed his weapon. He spun around to see Ruby standing there with a grin. "What are you-" He demanded before she cut him off.

"GOOD MORNING TEAM RWBY!" She shouted as she stepped out from behind his bed.

Winston's glare faltered from her cheery attitude as he gawked at his partner. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" He shouted.

Ruby brushed off the question and turned to stare at him. "Now that your awake, we can officially begin our first order of business!" She said as she turned to look at Blake and Yang.

Winston raised his eyebrow as he placed Myrtenaster back on his nightstand. "Excuse me?" He asked as he stared at her incredulously.

"Decorating!" Yang shouted as she held all of her stuff in her arms.

"What!?" Winston demanded.

"We still have to unpack." Blake said as she turned to her suitcase, which promptly fell open. "And clean."

Winston gave her an annoyed stare before Ruby appeared behind him again with the whistle and blew into it, causing him to fall.

"Alright! Winston, Yang, Blake, and their fearless leader Ruby, have begun their first mission! BANZAI!" She shouted, causing the other two to join her. Winston pinched the bridge of his nose as he starred at the trio ahead of him.

'These girls will be the death of me.' He thought as he turned to dress himself in his uniform.

Yang placed a poster of the Achieve Men on the wall above her bed, while Winston hung a painting on the opposite side of the room. Blake stocked the bookshelves, taking special care to keep her personal stash in another location. Ruby attempted to hang the curtains on the window with Crescent Rose, but as she turned to face the rest of her team the blade bisected the curtains.

After stitching the curtains back together, the four took a step back to admire the mess they had created. The room itself looked great, apart from the pile of bed in the center.

"This... Isn't going to work." Winston said as he scanned the pile.

"It is a bit cramped." Blake agreed as she looked around.

"Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff." Yang said.

"Or we could ditch the beds..." Ruby said as she looked to the floor. Moments later she looked up with a grin. "And make bunk beds!"

Winston frowned. "That doesn't sound safe in the slightest." He said as he turned to Ruby.

"But it does sound super awesome!" Yang said as she pumped her fist into the air.

"It does seem efficient." Blake agreed.

Winston looked around defeated. "Well there goes that vote." He mumbled as they went to work stacking the beds.

After a few minutes the team stepped back again to view their work. Blake's bed had been stacked on top of Yang's bed with books as the support, while Ruby's bed had been hung from the ceiling by ropes and had a sheet draped over it.

"What if someone wants to read one of those?" Winston asked as he pointed at the books holding up Blake's bed.

She shrugged. "I've read them all. Doubt any of you would care to read my romance novels."

"Fair point." Winston said as he turned to the clock. '8:55. Wonder what else we can do today before school.' He thought to himself.

"Alright! Our second order of business is!" Ruby shouted as she jumped onto her bed and grabbed the schedule. "Classes. Now, we have a few classes together today, at 9 we gotta be-"

"What!?" Winston shouted as he stared at Ruby. "Did you say 9 o' clock?!" He asked.

"Ahh... Yeah?" She responded as she turned to face her partner.

"It's 8:55 you dunce!" He said as he turned and sprinted out of the room.

JNPR peeked out of their dorms and saw Winston shoot out of his dorm and off down the hall.

"Ah... T-to class!" Ruby shouted as the rest of RWBY followed him.

"Class?" Jean asked aloud. "Ahh!" She shouted as the rest of her team fell on her. She got to her feet and started running down the hall. "We're gonna be late!" She panicked.

Ozpin and Glynda watched as team RWBY and JNPR raced across the campus to the school building. Ozpin raised an eyebrow as he watched before taking a sip from his mug.

* * *

 **Professor Port's Classroom**

"Monsters! Deeeemons. Prowlers of the night... Yes the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them, as prey! Haha!" Professor Port said as he looked around his class for a reaction. Seeing nothing he cleared his throat and continued. "And you shall too, upon graduation from this prestigious academy."

Port turned and began to pace the front of his classroom. "Now, as I was saying. Vale, along with the other three kingdoms, are safe havens, in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to piece's. And that's where we come in, Huntsman!" Port said as he puffed out his chest.

"Huntresses." He said as he pointed to Yang. "Individuals who have sworn to protect, those who cannot protect themselves. From what you ask? Why, from the very world!" He shouted as he raised his arm into the air.

"AYEP!" A boy from the back of the class shouted, before the looks from his fellow classmates caused him to move back to his chair.

"That is what you are training to become. But first, a story! A tale of a young, handsome man. Me!" He finished, causing Winston to roll his eyes.

The boy began to tune out Professor Port as he glanced to his side and noticed Ruby scribbling on her paper. 'At least she can take class seriously.' He thought as he turned back to the teacher.

"Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. Peter! He told me."

Winston heard Ruby giggling and turned to see her hold up the sheet he thought she was taking notes on. She was drawing a rather crude portrait of the professor. A tick appeared on Winston's forehead as he heard Yang join in on the giggling.

"Ahem!" Port said, causing the trio to turn back to him. He raised an eyebrow to the group before continuing. "In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity! And I returned to my village with the beast in captivity, and my head held high! Celebrated, as a Hero!" He took a bow at the end before continuing. "The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable. A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, and well educated, and wise!" Port said.

As he was talking, Winston was getting increasingly frustrated with Ruby's antics, from making faces, to messing with her supplies, to picking her nose.

"So, who among you believes they posses they traits?" The Professor asked.

Winston's hand shot into the air. "I do sir!" He shouted.

Port's eyebrow rose in amusement. "Do you now? Well then, step forward, and meet your opponent!" He said as he turned to the massive cage beside him.

Winston rose from his chair and walked to the front of the class before facing the cage. He drew his weapons and motioned for Port to let the beast lose.

"Go Winston!" Yang shouted.

"Fight Well!" Shouted Blake.

"Yeah! Represent team RWBY!" Ruby shouted.

Winston scowled and looked to his team. "I am trying to focus!" He shouted.

Each of them frowned. "O-oh, sorry..." Ruby said as she turned to Port.

"Now then, let the match, begin!" Port shouted as he brought his axe down on the lock of the cage, causing the door to fall open, revealing a Boarbatusk.

The Grimm let out a squeal as it charged from it's cage at Winston. The boy in white managed to sidestep the charge, delivering two slashes across the side as it passed him.

"Haha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" Port said as he watched from the side.

"Hang in there Winston!" Ruby shouted as she grinned down towards her partner.

Winston and the Grimm charged one and another, meeting in the center of the classroom. The Boarbatusk managed to hook it's tusk around one of Winston's Blades, while Winston countered by stabbing the Grimm in it's top left eye with his other. The Grimm shook Winston violently, causing his hand to release the weapon that was stuck in the Grimm, and drop the blade that had been locked by the tusks.

"A bold approach, I like it! But what can you do without your weapons?" Port asked as he ran his hand down his mustache.

"Come on Winston! Show it who's boss!" Ruby called from the stands.

Winston glared at his leader, causing him to receive a direct hit from the Boarbatusk as it charged. Winston used the force of the hit to flip the Grimm onto it's back as it ran him over.

Taking his chance while the Grimm was on it's back, Winston grabbed his weapons from the floor and turned to face the monster.

"Winston! Go for the underbelly! There's no armor under-" Ruby called, but was stopped by Winston.

"Silence!" He snapped. "I know how to fight Ruby!" He shouted as he glared up at her.

Ruby frowned and retreated farther into her seat.

The Boarbatusk attempted to use Winston's distracted state against him again, and curled into a ball and began to roll towards him at blinding speeds.

"Enough of this!" Winston shouted as he drove his swords into the ground. A Glyph appeared ahead of him, causing the Grimm to bounce off of it and land on it's side. "Ice coffin!" He shouted as he forced the blades deeper into the ground. Several Glyphs appeared around the Grimm, each firing out large spikes of ice, that penetrated deep into the hide of the Grimm.

Winston waited a moment until he heard the final cry of the dying Grimm, before he sighed and pulled his blades from the floor.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Port said as he clapped his hands. "It's would appear that we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntsman in training." Winston stood up straight and sheathed his blades as he starred ahead. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings. And, stay vigilant! Class dismissed." Port finished as Winston glanced to his team before walking from the room.

Jean frowned as he watched her old friend leave. "Winston... What happened to you?" She asked herself.

* * *

 **Beacon Halls**

"Winston!" Ruby called as she chased after him.

"What." Winston demanded as he turned to face his partner.

"What's wrong with you!? Why are you being-" Ruby started, but was cut off by Winston.

"What's wrong with me!? What's wrong with you!" He demanded as he pointed a finger at her chest. "Your supposed to be a leader! And all you've done so far is fool around!" He stated.

Ruby looked taken aback. "What did I do!?" She demanded.

"That's just it!" He started. "You've done nothing to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child! And you've only continued to do so!" He shouted.

Ruby tilted her head to the side. "Winston, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about working together, I thought you believed in acting as a team." She asked.

He scowled. "Not a team, lead by you." He stated as he raised his arms. "I've studied, and trained! I'm the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company for crying out loud! At the least, I deserve a leader who takes her position seriously!" He shouted as he turned around and began to walk away, stopping only once to glance over his shoulder. "Ozpin, made a mistake."

Ruby frowned as she watched Winston walk out of sight.

"Hmm... Now that didn't seem to go very well." Ruby turned sharply when she heard a voice behind her. Looking to see who it was, she found Professor Ozpin standing behind her, watching Winston leave.

Ruby frowned as she looked up at him. "Is he right? Did you make a mistake?" She asked.

Ozpin looked down at the girl with an amused smile. "That remains to be seen." He said.

* * *

 **Beacon Balcony**

Winston strode out onto the balcony and noticed Professor Port standing along one of the railings. He decided to greet the senior huntsman. "Professor Port." He said as he walked over to the man.

Port turned with a smile. "Ah, Mr. Schnee! To what do I owe this fine pleasure?" He asked.

"I enjoyed your lecture." He said as he stared across that the larger man.

Port continued to smile. "Of course you did child, you have the blood of a true Huntsman in you!" Port declared as he stared down at his student.

"You really think so?" Winston asked.

"Most surely!" Port stated as he watched Winston frown slightly. "Hmm... Somethings troubling you." Port stated as he examined the boy.

"Yes sir." He stated.

"Dear boy, confess to me your strife!" Port stated as he raised an arm into the air.

"Well... I believe that I should have been the leader of team RWBY." Winston stated as he looked to the older man for confirmation.

'Ah, so this is the issue.' Port thought. After a pause he spoke again. "That's preposterous!" He stated.

* * *

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked as she stared up at Ozpin.

"I mean, it's only been one day. Ruby, I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on this planet. But at this moment, I would not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them." Ozpin finished as he took a sip from his mug before he leaned down towards Ruby and looked her in the eyes. "Do you?" He asked.

* * *

"Excuse me?" Winston asked as he raised his eyebrow.

Port placed his hands on his hips as he looked across at his student. "I've followed Professor Ozpin for many years, and the man's never once lead me astray!"

"So you would just blindly accept his decision, all the while knowing that I have qualifications far superior to Ruby?" He asked.

Port frowned. "With all due respect, the grandeur of your qualifications is matched only by your poor attitude."

"How dare you!" Winston shouted.

"My point exactly." Port said as he looked to his student. "I see before me a boy who since he was young, has been given everything he wanted, and now that you finally found something you want but can't have, your throwing a fit, rather than supporting your partner."

Winston crossed his arms over his chest. "You hit the nail on the head professor. I got everything I ever wanted as a child. When I wanted something, my parents would buy me it, when I wanted a little sister, my parents had another child." Winston started.

"When my father betrayed his family and tried to sell my sister's to the White Fang in order to get them off our backs, I overthrew him as the chairman. When I want something, I get it." He finished as he glared across at the older man.

* * *

"Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you are not always preforming at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?" Ozpin asked as he stared down at Ruby.

* * *

"So the outcome did not fall in your favor. Do you really believe that acting in such a manner would really force those in power to reconsider their decision?" Port asked, his tone changing from that of a stern old hunter, to that of a wise old professor. "So instead of fretting over what you don't have, savor what you do. Hone your skills, prefect every technique, and be not the best leader, but the best person you can be." Port finished.

Winston paused for a moment, the scowl still present on his face.

* * *

"You have been burdened with a daunting responsibility Ruby. I suggest you take some time to think about how you will uphold it." Ozpin said as he turned and walked down the hall.

Ruby looked to the floor and turned to see Port walking away from Winston on the Balcony.

'I better find out how late the library is open.' Ruby thought as she turned away from the exit.

* * *

 **RWBY Dorm**

Winston opened the door to his room and saw the lights were already off. He had taken a walk around the campus after his talk with Port to sort some things out in his head. He turned to see Blake asleep peacefully on her bottom bunk, while Yang slept haphazardly with her wings draped over the edge of the bed, twitching on occasion.

He turned and walked to Ruby's bed and drew back the curtain to find her asleep with her face in a book.

Winston's eye's widened slightly when he notice that it appeared she had been studying for the past few hours. He cleared his throat and shook Ruby's arm to wake her.

Ruby's eye's fluttered open and she was met with the sight of Winston, with a rather cold stare. "Winston! I- I was studying, and then I fell asleep, oh, I'm sorry! I-" But she was cut off as Winston pressed a hand to her mouth and placed a finger over his lips.

He glanced to the side and saw Ruby's empty mug beside her pillow. "How do you take your coffee?" He asked.

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "I- I don't-"

"Answer the question." He said with an annoyed tone.

"Ah, cream and five sugars!" She said just above a whisper.

Winston rolled his eyes and turned away from her bed, grabbing her mug as he left. "Don't move." He said.

Ruby scratched her head as she watched her partner prepare her a cup of coffee before he handed it back to her. "Um... Thanks, Winston." She said, mildly confused.

"Ruby... I think you have the potential to be a good leader." Winston said as he scanned over the books she had. Ruby smiled and was about to speak before Winston continued. "Just know, that I will be watching you, every step of the way. If I deem you unfit to lead, I will take it up with the school." He finished.

Ruby frowned slightly before noticing the lack of a glare on his face. She grinned as she whispered back to him. "Then I'll just have to try really hard then, wont I?" She asked.

Winston rolled his eyes with an amused smile. "Good night Ruby." He said as he walked to the door. As he walked out the door he turned around and looked up to her.

"Hey Ruby?" He called.

"Huh?" She replied.

"The answer to question 6 is 57, not 34." He said as he closed the door behind him.

Winston turned and walked down the hall towards his locker to put away Myrtenaster and it's sister blade. 'Bunk beds... Heh, baby sis is gonna love to hear this.' He thought as he turned the corner.

* * *

 **Alright! So here we are at the end of episode 10! Next chapter will cover Juanedice, and maybe forever fall. I have already decided that CRDL will remain as the all male team, but I would like for you all to vote in the reviews as to what genders you would like to have CFVY be. Only thing that will remain static with them, is regardless of gender, Velvet will still be a rabbit Faunus.**

 **In this chapter I gave everyone a little sneak peek into my OC, Professor Throne, and I hinted a little bit more as to the relationship between Winston and his sisters. If you have a question for me, leave a review and I shall try to answer it to the best of my abilities.**


	4. Jean's Trials

**Alright, so I gave it a few days before I started to write this chapter so people could cast their votes for what CFVY would be, and there hasn't really been that many votes yet. Since I was planning to anyway, I shall make Velvet a Female so I can continue this chapter.**

 **I plan to wait to add CFVY to the story until their first appearance in Volume Two, until then however, I shall be posting the polls for CFVY genders in these pre-chapter notes.**

 **Coco - Female: 1 - Male: 0**

 **Yatsuhashi - Female: 1 - Male: 0**

 **Fox - Female: 0 - Male: 0**

 **Just cast your votes in a review, as I can't seem to get the Poll's on my profile to work properly.**

 **Also, to answer one of the review's, no, Winter is still Winston's older sister. Winston is the middle child, and has one younger sister. I shall reveal more about her as the story progresses.**

 **[Polls Closed]**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of it's affiliated characters.**

* * *

 **RWBY Dorm**

Winston sat quietly at his desk, his coat draped over the back of his chair as he reclined. He had his scroll in his hand, and was browsing through various messages he had gotten over the days prior.

"Stocks are down for the Schnee food label... Faunus protest at the quarry's west of Vacuo... The Vice president's birthday is in a week..." He muttered to himself as he scanned across the words before him.

Winston had begun his work earlier in the morning after the rest of RWBY had gone off to enjoy their weekend. Blake had plans to go to a book store in Vale, while Ruby was going to join Jean at a movie. Yang had failed to mention where she was running off to, but Winston didn't bother to ask either. His desk was facing away from the door to his room, so he failed to notice when it was opened.

Yang strolled into the dorm with a bored look on her face. She had worked up a mild sweat while she was training, but had been unable to find a good sparring partner. Most first year students had left campus for the day, and those few who stayed had posed no challenge to the dragon.

She glanced to the side and noticed Winston reclined in his desk chair, one foot dangling before him, the other placed on his desk, keeping him from falling backwards. She grinned when she realized that he hadn't seen her enter the room, and crept over to him. She peeked over his shoulder to get a look at what he had on his scroll.

Winston closed the news board from his company and opened a message he had gotten from his mother. He raised an eyebrow as he read the message above the photo.

"So Winter is teaching her to fence..." He muttered as he looked at the picture below.

In the photo were two women, and a little girl. The elder woman had a long white dress, with red frills at the bottom, and at the ends of her sleeves. She had short hair that came down to her shoulders, and had a light smile on her face.

The next was a tall woman, wearing an over coat that resembled Winston's own, but with the sleeves cut to show her shoulders. She had a grey top on under her coat, with a pair of thigh high grey metal boots, and a pair of plain white pants on under them. Her hair was tied into a bun on the back of her head, with a piece of her bang's, hanging in her face. She had a stern look on her face as she held her sword out ahead of her.

The last was a little girl, no older then 9. She had a blue dress that went from her shoulder's to her knees, and a pair of white shoes. She like the rest of the people in the photo, had pale white skin and hair, though most of her head and face were obscured by the hood of a cloak, similar to that of Ruby's. The only difference being that her cloak was a light blue, similar to that of her dress as opposed to a blood red. She was holding a wooden rapier, carved in a similar fashion to that of Myrtenaster.

Yang tilted her head to the side as she scanned over the people in the photo. Yang had been on team RWBY for a couple of weeks, so she knew that Winston had a sister, but she had never seen her until now.

"Who's that?" Yang asked, surprising Winston.

Winston jumped in his chair, loosing his footing on the desk, causing him to fall backwards onto Yang. The two hit the floor with a thud as Winston's scroll slid across the floor and clattering against the wall.

Winston growled slightly as he opened his eyes and used his hands to push himself up.

"What the hell did you think you were doing!?" He shouted as he glared down at Yang.

Yang didn't respond, only glaring back up at Winston with red eyes.

Winston looked to her confused for a moment before he felt something soft under his hand. His eyes widened slightly as he looked down to his hands and noticed their placement. When the two had fallen, Winston landed on Yang and he had placed his hand on her breast when he pushed himself up. Winston froze as a look of realization dawned on him, and he looked back to Yang.

Yang's face was as red as her eyes as she glared up at the boy in white.

"You..." She growled out as she cracked her knuckles.

"I..." Was all Winston could muster. He may have been the head of a company and one of the most successful teens in the world, but even he couldn't think of a way to smooth talk his way out of what he knew was coming.

The dorm building shook as two loud crashes could be heard. Student's opened their doors to see what had happened, only to find the door to RWBY's dorm blown off of it's hinges and into the hallway, and the door to JNPR's room caved inward.

Pyrrhus looked down from his weights in surprise as he saw Winston crash through his door and slam into the wall on the opposite side. The boy had left a large crack in the drywall, and seemed to be in a mild daze. He stood from his bench and walked to his door before looking across at RWBY's dorm. He saw Yang standing there panting heavily, a deep blush on her face.

He waved to her awkwardly before he spoke. "I think he's unconscious!" He called across.

Yang took a deep breath and straightened out her hair before she crossed the hall, grabbed Winston by the leg and dragged him out of the room.

Glynda watched as Winston was dragged back into his room with a frown. 'This is why the students are supposed to leave their weapons in their lockers.' She thought as she waved her Riding Crop and moved the door back into place before she glanced to JNPR's door. 'That door's going to need to be replaced.'

Pyrrhus peeked out of his room and waved to Glynda. "Sorry!" He called.

Glynda smiled and nodded to him before she turned and began to leave the dorms.

Back in RWBY's dorm, Yang threw Winston onto his bed and sat down on Blake's. She cupped her hands and placed her elbow on her knees as she stared across at him. Moments later, Winston groaned and sat up on his bed. He winced and brought a hand to his eye.

The two teammates eyes met as they glared at each other. They stared at each other for a few moments before Winston spoke. "This never happened. I tripped and hit my eye on the door knob." He stated.

Yang nodded her head in agreement. She saw something silver out of the corner of her eye flash, and turned to see Winston's scroll lying against the wall. She rose from her seat and walked to collect the device. Retrieving it from the corner, Yang looked at it before tossing it to Winston, who caught it and glanced at the message.

"So..." Yang stared as she grabbed a brush and a fist full of hair. "Who's Winter?" She asked.

Winston looked over to her as she began to comb knots out of her hair. He scowled as he clicked his scroll shut and placed it in his breast pocket. "My elder sister." He stated as he walked to his desk chair, which was still lying on the ground.

Yang frowned. "What about the other two in the photo?" Yang asked.

"My mother and little sister." He stated as he collected his coat and placed Myrtenaster on his hip.

"I didn't know you had a little sister as well." Yang said as she grabbed another handful of hair.

Winston turned to her with a glare. "There is a great deal that you do not, nor will you ever know of my family." He hissed as he walked to the door. He pulled it open and turned to Yang. "I am going to the arena. If you wish to continue this casual banter, then we shall do it with steel." He finished as he turned and walked from the room.

Yang watched him go with a frown before placing her brush on the desk and collecting a new pouch of ammo from her night stand and following him down the hall.

The rest of the weekend passed with next to nothing interesting happening, short of Nora stealing one of Blake's books, resulting in a chase across the campus.

* * *

 **Arena**

Jean breathed heavily as she used her sword for support. Standing across from her was Cardin Winchester. He had a smug smile on his face as he held his massive mace above his head.

Jean let out a shout as she charged Cardin with her sword. She took a clumsy swing at the large boy, who easily dodged the smaller girl. Jean turned and was met with the bladed tips of Cardin's mace, and was sent sprawling across the arena.

She rolled back to her feet and grabbed her sword with both hands and attempted an overhead swing. She brought her sword down on the handle of the weapon. She put all over her strength into pushing forward with her sword, but was easily overpowered by Cardin's superior size.

He grinned as he stared down at her. "This is the part, where you lose." He stated simply.

Jean glared up at him. "Over my dead body!" She stated confidently.

Cardin knee'd her in the gut before he knocked her to the side with his mace. "That's the idea." He finished as he raised his mace above his head. Suddenly the room around them lit up and a buzzer sounded, causing Cardin to falter.

"That's enough." Glynda said as she walked onto the stage between the two fighters. "Students, as you can see, Ms. Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Jean is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match." Glynda finished as she turned to Jean.

"Ms. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your Aura will help you to decide when it is appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more defensive strategy." She said as she looked to Jean.

Jean sighed and looked down at her scroll.

"We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now would we?" She asked sarcastically.

Cardin scoffed as he placed his mace on his back. "Speak for yourself." He stated as he turned to leave the stage.

"Remember everyone! The Vytal Festival is only a few months away!" Glynda stated as she scanned the crowd. Yang and Ruby seemed very excited, while Winston smiled lightly as he held an ice pack to his black eye. "It won't be long before students from other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!" She finished as she turned to walk off the stage.

Pyrrhus frowned as he watched Jean lower her head in shame and walk towards the locker room.

* * *

 **Cafeteria**

"So... There we were, in the middle of the night!" Nora said as she scanned the table.

"It was day." Ren corrected as he placed a fry into his mouth.

"We were surrounded by Ursai!" She stated ominously.

"They were Beowolves." Ren corrected again.

"DOZENS OF EM!" She shouted as she jumped from her seat.

"Two of them." Ren stated calmly.

"But they were no match. And in the end, Ren and I took them down, and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" Nora stated proudly as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Ren sighed and took a sip of his coffee. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." He stated, a hint of exhaustion in his voice.

"Jean? Are you okay?" Pyrrhus asked as he turned to see his partner picking through her food.

It took her a moment to notice the question before she responded. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Why?" She asked.

"It's just that, you seem a little, not okay." Ruby sated as she looked to Jean with concern.

Jean looked around the table and sighed. "Guy's look, I'm fine. See?" She said as she gave them a thumbs up and a smile.

They heard someone laughing and turned to see team CRDL taunting a second year student at another table.

"Jean, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school." Pyrrhus stated with a frown.

Jean looked over to him with a look of confusion. "W-who? Cardin Winchester? Nah, he just likes to mess around you know, practical jokes." Jean said, no confidence behind her statement.

Ruby frowned, her ears twitching. "He's a bully." She stated.

Jean scoffed. "Oh please, name one time he's bullied me." She said as she looked around her table.

"What about the time he knocked your books out of your hands when he passed you in the hall?" Ren asked from the other end of the table.

"Or how about when he deployed Crocea Mors in the door to the class, and got you stuck?" Nora added.

"How about when he shoved you into a locker and sent you to the other side of the school." Blake added dryly.

Jean waved the last one off. "I didn't land that far from the school." She stated.

Pyrrhus frowned. "Jean, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask." He said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ooh! We can break his legs!" Nora shouted as she jumped from her chair.

"I could set him on fire!" Yang joked as she grinned over to Jean.

"I can ruin his families company financially." Winston added as he pressed a button on his scroll. "All it takes is one call and Winchester Weapon Designs goes bankrupt." He finished as he stared at Jean. The rest of the table looked at him with a mixture of shock and surprise. He looked around in confusion. "What!?" He shouted.

Ruby pointed a finger at him. "You just offered to help someone!" She stated.

"What? So I can't decide to help an old friend out from time to time?" He asked as he crossed his arms and scowled down at her.

"Forget that, didn't any of you hear how calmly he talked about ruining someone else's life?" Blake asked as she looked around them.

"A bullies life!" Nora argued happily.

"And the life of anyone who works for Winchester Weapon Designs!" Blake stated as she looked across at the pink bundle of energy. "He was so casual about the way he talked about destroying someone's hard work, and all on a whim!" She finished.

"Nonsense!" Winston stated. "I would never waste the factories that they have. All the workers can keep their jobs. I'll ruin the company, then buy it for a fraction of what it's worth." Winston finished as he took a sip of his coffee. "No sense in wasting an opportunity to make more money."

Blake glared over to Winston. "What about Cardin's family? What about his parents and siblings that your plan would affect?" She asked.

Winston shrugged. "I guess they can work in one of the factories." He stated calmly.

If look's could kill, Winston would have died about ten times as Blake glared at him, her eyes briefly shifting to a golden hue with black slits.

Jean chuckled nervously and stood with her tray. "Guys, really, I appreciate the concern, but it's fine. Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone." She finished as they turned to see Cardin tugging on the girl's rabbit ears.

"OW! Stop that, it hurts!" She shouted as she tried to get her ear out of his grasp. "Please stop!" She asked as Cardin pulled her to the side.

"I told you they were real!" He stated as he turned to his team.

"What a freak!" Russel said as the rest of the team laughed at her. Cardin finally released her ear and she turned swiftly and left, hiding her face with her hand.

"Atrocious. I can't stand people like him." Pyrrhus stated as he cracked his knuckles.

Blake was already in a bad mood from her talk with Winston when she heard Pyrrhus. "He's not the only one." She hissed.

Yang nodded as she glared at Cardin. "People like him make it a lot less fun to be Faunus." She said as her wing's twitched.

Jean left her table and sighed as she walked to dispose of the remnants of her lunch. Cardin watched her go with a malicious grin.

* * *

 **Dr. Oobleck's Classroom**

"Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus rights revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War, Humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie!" Oobleck stated as he pointed to a place on his map.

He took a sip of his coffee before he darted off to another corner of the room. "Now then! While this must feel like ancient history to you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the Uprising can still be seen to this day!" He shouted as he moved frantically around the room, students struggling to follow his movement.

"Now. Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated against, because of your Faunus heritage?" He asked, prompting several students to raise their hands, Ruby and Yang included.

"Dreadful. Simply dreadful! Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breed violence!" He finished as he took another sip from his coffee.

"I mean, I mean, I mean, just look at what happened to the White Fang! Now! Which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe was the turning point, in the third year of the war?" He asked.

Winston raised his hand in the back of the class. "Yes, Mr. Schnee!" He called.

"The Battle at Fort Castle." He stated.

"Precisely!" He shouted as he swung his pointer around, knocking several papers from his desk. "And, who can tell me the advantage that the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" He asked as he scanned the class room for a student with the answer. He noticed Cardin flick something at Jean, who had been sleeping up to this point, and decided to run with it.

"Hey!" Jean said as she reached towards the back of her head.

"Ms. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?" He asked. He knew that Jean had been asleep, but she had not participated in the discussions since the school year began, so he figured he'd test her to see what she'd learned.

"Uhhhh... The answer..." Jean started as she looked around the room. "The advantage... The Faunus had... Over that Guys stuff..." Jean turned to see Pyrrhus cupping his eyes as he tried to signal to her what the answer was. "Uh... B-binoculars!" She stated confidently.

The students around the room laughed as Oobleck sighed and took a drink from his mug. Pyrrhus face-palmed as he heard his partner answer.

"Yes, very funny Ms. Arc." Oobleck said as he moved back behind his desk. He turned his attention to the student who had caused him to look to Jean. "Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thought's on the subject!" Oobleck called.

Cardin was reclining in his desk as he heard the teacher call him. "Well, I know it's a-lot easier to train an animal than a solider." He said with a snicker.

Oobleck frowned as Pyrrhus turned to Cardin. "Your world view saddens me." He stated as he glared up at Cardin.

Cardin returned the glare as he spoke. "What! You got a problem?" He asked in a threatening manner.

"No, I have the answer." He said as he turned back to Oobleck. "It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark." He finished as he crossed his arms on his desk.

Cardin growled at being humiliated in front of the class as he turned away from Pyrrhus.

"General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the General was captured." Blake said as she turned to Cardin. "Perhaps, if he had paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." She finished, using the end of her statement to spite Cardin.

Oobleck chuckled lightly as he watched Cardin get to his feet with his hands balled up into fists. "Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat." He said as he gestured for the boy to sit back down at his desk. He saw Jean laughing at Cardin's misfortune and decided to punish them both. "You and Ms. Arc can see me after class for additional readings." He finished as he took a sip.

Jean sighed in defeat as she looked down at her desk.

"Now! Moving on!" Oobleck shouted as he sped off, away from Jean's desk.

* * *

 **Hallway Outside the classroom**

Ren, Nora and Pyrrhus walked out of the class with a bored look on their face's as Pyrrhus turned to the others. "You go on ahead. I'll wait for Jean." He said as he turned to look back into the classroom.

Oobleck took a sip of his coffee as he looked to the two students before him. "You two have been struggling in my class since day one. Now, I don't know if it's lack of interest or just your stubborn nature, but what ever it is-" He paused as he took a sip from his mug. "It stops now." He finished as he placed the mug on his desk.

"You've worked hard to be accepted to this school, and we only accept the best of the best! So! I expect you to act like it. History is important gentlemen, if you can't learn from it... You are destined to repeat it. Pages 51 to 91! I want an essay on my desk by next class! Now, run along." He finished as he darted out of the class in a blur.

Pyrrhus watched as the professor sped past him and turned to see Jean walking out behind him. Jean turned to her, only to be shoved to the ground by Cardin.

"Heh." He said as he turned and walked away from the two.

Pyrrhus helped Jean to her feet and looked into her eyes with a serious face. "You know, I really will break his legs." He stated.

Jean sighed sadly as Pyrrhus scanned her face for some kind of opening.

Suddenly Pyrrhus's face lit up as he grinned. "I have an idea!" He shouted as he grabbed Jean by the hand. "Follow me!" he finished as he dragged a panicking Jean off down the hall.

* * *

 **Rooftop**

Jean and Pyrrhus walked out onto the balcony that overlooked the campus courtyard. The sky was dark as the sun had set while they were at their classes, and they could hear crickets chirping in the distance.

They walked to the edge and Pyrrhus looked out at Beacon Tower with a smile.

"Pyrrhus, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not... THAT depressed." Jean said as she looked down over the edge of the roof. "I can always work for my parents or something..."

Pyrrhus gave her a confused look before he caught the meaning behind it. "NO!" He shouted as he dragged her away from the ledge. Once they were a comfortable distance from the edge, Pyrrhus turned back to Jean. "That's not why I brought you here!" He stated. "Jean, I know your having a difficult time in class, and that your still not the strongest of fighters, so..." He said as he took a breath. "I want to help you!" He declared, neither of the two noticing the third presence that was listening to them.

"W-what?" Jean asked as she looked at her partner.

"We can train up here, after classes where no one can bother us!" He stated.

Jean looked slightly hurt as she placed a hand on the back of her head. "You think I need help?" She asked.

Pyrrhus nodded. "Everyone need's help from time to time." He stated confidently. "But that's not what I meant." He finished.

"But you just said it." She pointed out.

"I also said that everyone need help every now and then." He stated. "It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us." He finished as Jean turned away from him. "You made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what your capable of!"

"Your wrong..." She said. "I-I don't belong here." She finished with a sigh.

Pyrrhus frowned. "That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you do!" He challenged.

Jean spun around to face him with a frown. "No! I don't!" She shouted. Pyrrhus gave her a confused look as she continued. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Pyrrhus asked as he stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Jean shook his hand off and started to tell her story. "I mean I didn't go to Combat School, I didn't pass any test! I didn't earn my spot in this academy!" She declared as she sun around to face Pyrrhus. "I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I lied!" She finished.

"What? But, why?" He asked as he stared at her in shock.

"Cause this is what I always wanted to be!" She shouted. "My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all heroes! My older Brother is a Hunter now! At this very moment, he is running around some swamp in Minstral tracking Grimm with his partner from Atlas!" She said as she looked Pyrrhus in the eyes. "They're all heroes! And I wanted to be one to... I was just never good enough." She said sadly.

Pyrrhus placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. "The let me help you." He said softly.

An annoyed look crossed Jean's face as she turned to look at Pyrrhus. "I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!" She shouted.

Pyrrhus looked hurt as he attempted to speak. "Jean, I-"

Jean interrupted him as she continued to rant. "I am tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while her friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand!?" She shouted. "If I can't do this on my own... The what good am I?" She asked.

Pyrrhus moved to place his hand on her shoulder again, but she withdrew and moved away from him.

"Just, leave me alone..." She said as she turned her back to him. "Okay?"

Pyrrhus frowned and let his arms drop to his sides. "If that's what you think is best..." He said as he turned and began to walk away.

Jean frowned as she watched Pyrrhus walk into the building and moved to follow, when she heard an annoying laugh from behind her.

"Oh Jean..." Cardin said as he pulled himself up onto the roof.

"Cardin!" She said, a mixture of shock and surprise crossing her face.

He had a smug grin as he looked over at the smaller girl. "I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room. So... You snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say Jean, I never expected you to be such a rebel." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Jean couldn't tell if Cardin was mocking her or complementing her, but she decided to play it safe. "Please! Cardin, please! Don't tell anyone." Jean begged.

Cardin chuckled. "Jean! Come on! I'd never rat out a friend like that!" He stated as he circled around the girl.

"Uh, a friend?" Jean asked warily.

Carding grabbed the girl and put her in a headlock. "Of course! We're friends now Jeanie. And the way I see it, as long as your there for me when I need it, we'll be friends for a long time!" Cardin released Jean, causing her to fall to the ground, gasping for air. "That being said... I really don't have time to do those extra readings that Dr. Oobleck gave us today. Think you could take care of that for me, buddy?" Cardin asked as he messed up Jean's hair.

Cardin stood with the smug grin still fresh on his face. "That's what I thought. Don't worry Jean, your secrets safe with me." Cardin said with a chuckle as he climbed back down to his window.

Jean frowned as she placed a hand on her neck where Cardin had just been holding her. 'What did I get myself into...' Jean wondered to herself as she sadly got to her feet and walked towards the door, unaware of the security camera that had been watching them since the start.

* * *

 **Ozpin's Office**

"Of all the dishonest, rude and untrustworthy!" Glynda shouted as she and Ozpin watched the exchange between Jean and Pyrrhus. "I'm making arrangements right now for Jean Arc to be sent home!" She stated as she pulled out her scroll.

Ozpin took a sip from his mug and used his cane to knock Glynda's scroll into the air. He caught it and close it before she could say anything.

"Professor! She cheated her way into this school! She is endangering herself and her team by not having the proper training or experience to combat Grimm! Her mother assured me that she was ready!" She shouted as she reached for her scroll, only for Ozpin to place it in his desk.

"I seem to recall another such student who was admitted using a fake transcript several years ago. And she turned out just fine." Ozpin said as he looked towards Glynda.

She pushed her glasses back up to her eyes and glared back at him. "My transcripts were fake because of my past! My skills and experience had me more than ready for the challenges that this school offered! But Ms. Arc! She's never even been to combat school! She is not ready for this level of combat!" She said as she pointed to Jean, who was now in Cardin's headlock.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Your transcript was fake?" He asked.

Glynda froze. "You didn't already know?" She asked without turning to him.

Ozpin chuckled. "I suppose I should have known by now. It matters not anymore, no, I was referring to Ms. Rose's mother, Summer." He said as he watched Cardin climbed back into his dorm.

Glynda looked at the screen as she saw Jean walk into the building. "Are you suggesting that we do nothing about her?" Glynda asked as she looked to Ozpin.

He cupped his hands together and placed them at his chin. "I did not appoint Ms. Arc to Leader based on her combat abilities. I see great potential in her as a strategist." He said as he looked towards Glynda. "If she has not improved by second semester, I will have her expelled. Until then, I want to wait and see if she can become what I believe she can be." He finished as he took a sip from his mug.

Glynda sighed as she watched the screen to see if anything else would happen. She raised her eyebrow and glanced to Ozpin. "What do you have in that mug anyway?" She asked.

Ozpin smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. "You'll never know." He said with a chuckle.

* * *

 **JNPR Dorm**

Pyrrhus was looking out the window at the shattered moon with a saddened expression on his face, while Ren was polishing Storm Flower, and Nora was jumping on her bed. It had been a couple of days since Jean's talk with Pyrrhus on the roof, and she had been around for team activities less and less.

"How come Jean get's home so late?" Nora asked as she bounced.

"She's become rather scarce since she started fraternizing with CRDL." Ren added.

Nora frowned. "That's weird. Doesn't she know we have a field trip tomorrow? We need our rest!" She shouted as she did a flip and landed on her back, atop her bed.

Pyrrhus frowned as he stared out the window. "I'm sure our leader know's exactly what she's doing." He said with an annoyed tone.

Nora and Ren shared a look before Nora sighed. "I guess so..." She said sadly, none of the three noticing Jean closing the door to their dorm.

She sighed as she heard the door click.

"Hey Jean." Jean spun around with surprise as she heard someone greet her. Standing before her, was Ruby.

"H-hey Ruby." She said as she looked to the smaller leader.

"Long time no see. Did you lock yourself out again?" She asked as she looked past her to the closed door.

"Oh! N-no, see?" She said as she held her scroll out in front of her.

Ruby tilted her head to the side. "So, where have you been lately?" She asked.

"Oh... I uh..." She started before she let out a sigh and looked to Ruby. "I messed up. I did something I shouldn't have, and now Cardin's got me on a leash, and Pyrrhus won't even talk to me... I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea." She said sadly as she slid down the wall to the floor. "I'm a failure." She finished.

"Nope."

"Nope?" Jean asked as she looked up to Ruby.

"Nope." Ruby stated again. "Your a leader now, Jean. Your not allowed to be a failure." She finished as she looked down to her friend with a smile.

"But... What if I'm a failure at being a leader?" She asked.

Ruby paused and scrunched her face up as she thought. "Mmm... Nope." She stated again.

Jean laughed lightly as she watched Ruby sit beside her. "You know, you're not exactly the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff." She said.

"Nope." She said as she turned to look at Jean. "Jean, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid." Jean sighed as she continued. "And you might have even been a failure on the day we first met!" Jean sighed louder as she slid farther down the wall. "But you can't be a failure now. You know why?" She asked.

Jean searched for the correct reason. "Uhh... Because-" But she was cut off by Ruby.

"Because it's not just about you anymore! You've got a team now Jean. We both do! And if we fail, we'll just be bringing them down with us. We have to put our teammates first..." She started as she stood and placed her hands on her hips. "And ourselves second. Your team deserves a great leader Jean. And I think that can be you." Ruby said as she opened the door to her dorm. "Have a good night Jean." She said as she closed the door to her room.

Jean got to her feet and turned to enter her room, when her scroll began to buzz. She pulled it out to see that it was Cardin calling her.

"Hey! It's your buddy Cardin. I know your probably busy with that dust project I gave you, buuut I'm going to need you to go out and get me a bag of Rapier Wasps." Jean let out a sound of surprise at the boys request to find him a bag of the deadliest insect on Remnant. "And make sure they've got some reaaally big stingers! It's important, so don't screw this up!" Cardin hung up his scroll and Jean sighed as she looked to her dorm door. She turned and walked down the hall to leave the building.

* * *

 **Forest of Forever Fall**

Glynda was escorting the teams of first year students through the forest to the location where they would be draining the sap that they had been tasked with retrieving.

"Yes students, the Forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see! Professor Peaches asked all of you to collect samples from the tree's deep inside this forest." Glynda said as she lead the students through the bushes. "Myself, along with Professor's Port, and Thorne are here to make sure none of you die while doing so."

Pyrrhus raised his hand.

"Yes, Pyrrhus?" Glynda called.

"Where are Professor's Port and Thorne? I don't see them here with us." He asked as he looked towards the elder Huntress.

"They are in the forest dispatching as many Grimm as they can to keep them away from us. Apparently Port challenged Thorne to a contest, so I wouldn't expect to see them unless a Grimm gets too close." Glynda said with mild annoyance in her tone.

"Now then, each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, despite the combined efforts of both Professor Port and Professor Thorne, this forest is still filled with the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous at this location at four o'clock. Have fun." She finished as she walked off towards a tree.

Jean moved to go with her team, but Cardin caught her by her shoulder. "Come on, buddy! Let's go." He said as he turned and began to walk off with his team. Jean looked to her team sadly, then followed team CRDL off into the forest.

Pyrrhus sighed and rolled his eyes before following Ren and Nora.

* * *

 **An Hour Passes**

* * *

Team CRDL sat in a circle in a clearing enjoying a snack as they relaxed. Not long after, Jean came into the clearing with six jars of red sap. She dropped the jars on the ground and collapsed.

Cardin grinned as he looked to the poor girl. "Great work Jeanie. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" He asked as he and his team took their jars.

Jean was dizzy as she lay on the ground before him. "I think I'm allergic to this stuff..." She said sadly.

Cardin ignored the girl's statement and began to speak. "Great, great, great. So, Jean. I bet your asking yourself, 'Why did my buddy Cardin ask me to get six jars of tree sap, when there's only five of us.'"

Jean nodded on the ground. "That is, one of the many questions I've asked myself today, yes." She said as she sat up.

Cardin grinned. "Well, come with me, and I'll show you why." Cardin said cryptically.

Jean groaned in despair as she followed the others to a cliff overlooking the tree's that his and Ruby's teams were harvesting sap from.

Jean turned to Cardin with a questioning stare. "Cardin, what's going on?" She asked.

Cardin scowled as he glared down at Pyrrhus. "Payback." He stated simply.

Jean followed Cardin's glare to is target. "Pyrrhus?" She asked as she watched her partner use Milo to cut into the tree to collect the sap.

"That's the guy! Red-haired know-it-all, thinks he's so smart! Alright boys." Cardin said as he pulled a buzzing box out from behind himself. "Last night ol' Jean here managed to round up an entire box of Rapier Wasps. And now, were gonna put em to work." He finished as Russel patted Jean on the back.

Jean laughed nervously as Cardin continued his speech.

"Now, according to the essay she wrote me for last week, these nasty things looove sweets. I'm thinking it's time we teach him, a thing or two." Cardin finished as he pulled Jean to her feet and thrust a jar of sap into her arms. "And you're gonna do it."

Jean looked up to Cardin in confusion. "Do what?" She asked.

Cardin pointed to Pyrrhus. "Hit him with the sap. Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon." He threatened.

Jean looked down to the jar in her hands, then down to Pyrrhus bellow the cliff. She raised her arm to throw it, but hesitated. Finally making her decision, she lowered her arm.

"No."

Cardin glared at Jean. "What did you say?" He asked as he stepped forward.

"I said..." Jean started as she spun around and threw the jar at Cardin. "NO!" She finished as the sap crashed into Cardin's armor. Jean reeled back once she realized what she had done.

Cardin and his team stared down at his chest where the red sap was now covering his armor. He closed his eyes and smiled. "Oh-ho-ho, You've done it now." He growled as his team grabbed Jean by the shoulders.

Jean was thrown to the ground ahead of Cardin. He glare down at her and lifted her by her chest-plate, before punching her back down to the ground. "You know that wasn't very smart Jeanie... I'm going to make sure they send you back to mommy, in teeny, tiny, pieces." Cardin ground out as he lifted her off the ground.

Jean groaned slightly as she looked at Cardin's face. "I don't care what you do to me. But your not messing with my team." She said.

Cardin's glare intensified. "What, you think talk like that makes you tough? You think your some big strong Huntress now?" Cardin demanded as he lifted her farther off the ground.

Jean knew what was coming next, so she figured, why not push it. Jean smiled happily as Cardin glared up at her.

Cardin snarled as he brought his fist back. He threw his fist forward as hard as he could, and was met with a bright white light. When the light died down, Cardin released Jean and grabbed his fist with a roar of pain. Jean looked down and saw that she had healed herself and had a thin layer of light on her body that quickly dispersed.

She was kicked forward by Sky and glared up at Cardin. He had a smug grin on his face as he returned her glare. "Let's see what your really made of now Jean." He said.

There was a loud growl behind the group, and CRDL and Jean turned to see a massive Ursa Major crash into the clearing. The giant Grimm growled at the five before it as it slowly advanced towards them. CRDL and Jean slowly began to step backwards.

The Ursa Major stopped just before the group and stood on it's hind legs, sniffing the air. It glared down at Cardin and let out a viscous roar.

"That's a big Ursa!" Dove shouted as he and the rest of team CRDL turned and ran, leaving Jean and Cardin to fend for themselves. Cardin brought his arms up to defend himself, only to be swatted aside by the Ursa's paw.

Jean shook in terror as she starred up at the Grimm before her, until it turned and ignored her, in favor of chasing Cardin and the sweet scent of sap. Jean got to her feet and watched as the Ursa stood over Cardin. He drew his mace to fight it, only to be disarmed moments later. His mace bounce onto the ground in front of Jean.

The Ursa let out a roar, loud enough to be heard at the bottom of the cliff where RWBY and the rest of JNPR had gathered. Ruby's ear twitched as she looked to the sky. "Did you guys hear that?" She asked as Sky, Dove and Russel ran past them screaming about an Ursa.

Yang caught Russel by the scruff of his shirt, and lifted him into the air. "Where?" She demanded.

"Back there! It's got Cardin!" He said in a panic.

Pyrrhus dropped his jar of sap in a panic as he sprinted off towards where the three had come running from. Ruby turned to the rest of the people present. "Winston, come with us, the rest of you, go get one of the professors!" She said as She and Winston took off after Pyrrhus.

Cardin had gotten to his feet and attempted to escape by turning and running towards the tree's, but was met with failure, as the Ursa jumped ahead of him and knocked him back. The Ursa stood on it's hind legs and walked towards Cardin as he tried to escape.

Winston, Ruby and Pyrrhus arrived just as the Ursa Major took a swing at Cardin, only to be met with Crocea Mors. Jean had jumped between Cardin and the Ursa, and was attempting to hold back it's paw. The Grimm's brute strength was starting to prevail when Winston got into a combat stance.

"Wait!" Pyrrhus said as he placed a hand in front of Winston.

With a mighty push, Jean managed to throw the Ursa's paw off of her shield, and took a swing at the beast, slashing it across the chest. The Grimm recovered moments later, and slammed it's paw into the ground where Jean had been standing only a split second before.

Jean had managed to roll out of the way of the attack, then jumped to avoid the same claw being dragged through the grass towards her. While in the air, the Ursa used it's other paw to knock her to the ground beside Cardin. Jean quickly got back to her feet and charged the Ursa, being met with a similar situation as she was sent tumbling across the clearing.

Jean got back to her feet and looked to see her Aura in the red. She looked ahead of her and saw the Ursa run up to her and stop just out of range of her sword. It let out a mighty roar as it charged Jean, who in turn, charged right back. As they closed ranks, Jean attempted to stab with her sword, forgoing the shield, only to feel her shield arm raise up to deflect the downward strike from the Ursa.

With the massive Grimm staggered from it's failed attack, Jean took her chance and swung in an arc above her head, cutting the head clean off the Ursa.

Ruby turned to see Pyrrhus with his hand extended, a black haze surrounding it. "Uh... What?" She asked.

Winston raised an eyebrow as he turned to Pyrrhus. "How did you?" He asked.

Pyrrhus smiled. "Well, you have your Glyphs, Ruby has her speed, my Semblance, is Polarity." He said as he looked to Jean.

Ruby's eyes widened as she looked to the spartan. "Oh... You can control poles..." She mumbled.

Winston face-palmed as he turned to Ruby. "No you dunce! It means he has control over magnetism!" He stated.

"That's cool too..." Ruby mumbled again as she looked away.

Pyrrhus turned to leave, only to be met with confusion.

"Wait, where are you going?" Winston asked.

"Yeah, we gotta tell them what happened!" Ruby said as she pointed to Jean and Cardin.

Pyrrhus continued to smile as he spoke. "We could... Or perhaps we could just keep it as out little secret." He said as he watched Jean sheath her sword and walk over to Cardin.

Jean held her hand out to Cardin to help him to his feet. "Holy crap, Jean?" Cardin said as he looked down at her.

Jean leaned in and looked him right in the eyes. "Don't ever mess with my team, my friends... Ever again." She threatened as she glared at him. "Got it?" She asked.

As Jean turned to leave, she heard another rumbling, and turned to see Port and a massive suit of black armor crash through the trees.

"Blast!" Port shouted as they eye'd the Ursa Jean had killed.

"Aw man! I've been chasing that thing for ten minutes!" The man in the suit of armor groaned. The Suit itself was close to ten feet tall, and heavily resembled what you would think a tank would look like if it stood up. The armor was extremely bulky, and had a sickly green trimming to mirror the dark armor. The helmet of the suit was fashioned to look like that of a knight's helm, and the suit had a dark chain cloak the dangled from it's shoulders. On each hand were four long claws that protruded from the knuckle.

Port scanned the surroundings and saw Jean starring at them in shock. He waved to her. "AH! Ms. Arc! Did you fell this great beast?" He asked as he and the man in the armor lumbered towards her.

Jean nodded.

"Excellent work young lady!" Port said as he clapped her on the back. "This will be a great story to tell others one day I imagine!" He said with a smile

The man in the armor looked over the decaying Ursa, before turning to Jean. "A clean cut. Impressive. Your going to be a dangerous Huntress one day." He said as he gave Jean a thumbs up.

"Now then." He said as he looked down to Port. "I believe the score is still tied at 78 kills each." He said as he cracked his knuckles.

Port grinned and hoisted his battle axe into the air. "Indeed! We have only but a half an hour to see who is the better Huntsman!" He shouted as the two ran off into the woods again.

Jean watched them leave with a stunned look on her face, before she turned and walked towards the cliff where her friends were.

* * *

 **Beacon Roof top**

Jean stood on the edge of the roof, looking out at the campus before her. She failed to notice Pyrrhus walk up behind her. "No Cardin tonight? I thought you two were best buds." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Jean turned to him with a frown. "Pyrrhus, I'm sorry..." She said. "I was a jerk, you were only trying to be nice and, I-I had all this stupid stuff in my head about pride-" She was cut off by Pyrrhus.

"Jean! It's okay." He said as he looked into her eyes with a smile. "Your team really misses it's leader, you know." He finished as he turned and began to walk to the door. "You should come down. Ren made Pancakes~" He said as he opened the door. "No syrup though, you can thank Nora for that."

"Wait!" Jean called, causing Pyrrhus to turn towards her with a raised eyebrow. She sighed as she started talking. "I know I don't deserve it after all that happened, but... Would you still be willing to help me?" She asked. "To help me become a better fighter!" She finished.

Pyrrhus scratched his chin with a grin. He walked towards Jean and gave her a shove when he got close.

"Hey!" She shouted as she hit the ground.

"Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider, and lower to the ground." Pyrrhus said as he offered out a hand to help Jean up. When she got to her feet, Pyrrhus smiled down at her. "Let's try that again!" He said.

* * *

 **WOOOOOOOO! Four episode's, one chunk of comedic filler that also contains plot! I gave my god damn all this chapter! It is 8:20 in the morning, and I have been up since noon yesterday, so I'm going to get some sleep now.**

 **Cast your votes for the genders and species of CFVY in your reviews. I will be accepting entries until their introduction, half way through Volume two.**

 **And finally, as always, leave me a review telling me what you liked, or if you have any questions that you want answered.**


	5. Red Schnee

**So... This story is at 53 followers, and 40 favorites at the time of my writing this sentence. That make this the most successful Fanfic I have written on this site ever! I want to thank those of you who have read so far, and those of you who will continue to read as this story progresses.**

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 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of it's affiliated characters.**

* * *

 **Beacon Cafeteria**

"New face of the Schnee Dust Company." Pyrrhus read aloud as he skimmed through the magazine he had picked up from the school store earlier that same morning.

JNPR and RWBY were eating breakfast at their usual table, while Pyrrhus read current events from his magazine, and Winston stood off to the side on his scroll. All who sat at the table turned to look at Pyrrhus in surprise as he spoke.

"Winston Schnee is slated to rise to the position of CEO of the Schnee Dust Company later this week on his 18th birthday, following the hostile takeover that saw his father thrown behind bars." He continued as he turned the page. At the mention of his father Winston looked over with a minor interest in the conversation and began to listen along with the rest.

"The young Schnee has been in the public eye for many years, since the announcement that he would succeed his father as CEO at his 15th birthday party. He has released a statement confirming these claims, stating that he plans to return to Atlas over his break and hold a formal press conference over the details." Pyrrhus finished as he closed the magazine to examine the cover.

The cover of that magazine had a large portrait shot of Winston with his arms crossed, glaring down at the camera. He had his usual attire on, lacking only the armored overcoat that he wore for battles.

"When was this decided?" Ruby questioned as she turned to Winston.

"This was planned long before my assignment to this team." He stated as he pressed another button on his scroll.

"When did your father step down?" Jean asked. "Last time I visited your home he seemed like he would continue to run the company until after you graduated." She finished as she tilted her head to the side.

Winston paused as he read the reply on his scroll. "My father was forcibly removed after he made several decisions that were deemed detrimental to the company." He said as he turned to look at the table.

"Detri-what?" Ruby asked as she scratched her head.

"Detrimental. It means he was doing more harm than good." Blake said as she looked to the young leader.

Pyrrhus opened the magazine back to the article on Winston and continued to scan the page. "Say's here, that several Faunus rights groups will be attending the press conference to see if you plan to change the working conditions for the Faunus working in the mines." He said as he glanced over to Winston, who had begun to drink his coffee.

After taking a big drink and sighing with content, Winston placed his glass down on the table and continued to look through his scroll. "I have no plans to alter the working conditions that my employee's are currently living with. I have bigger and more important things to concern myself with."

Blake frowned and glared over at Winston. "More important then keeping your work force alive?" She hissed.

Winston turned his scowl from his scroll to Blake as he replied. "My workforce has all the necessary requirements to survive."

Blake held her glare as she fired back. "What about clean water, or fresh air!" She snapped.

Winston kept his calm demeanor as he scowled at his teammate. "The living conditions at the mines and quarry's are ample to allow the workers to survive. I will not waste what little time I have tending to each and every complaint that they have!" He insisted as he grabbed his coffee and took another drink.

"How can your family be so cruel!?" Blake shouted as she rose from her seat and pointed a finger at him. "You have the chance to change the lives of everyone working for you with one word! Yet you stubbornly refuse to help anyone, simply because you don't think it's worth your time!?" She accused.

Winston calmly crossed his arms over his chest and stared back at her. "That's right." He stated flatly.

Blake's eye twitched as she clenched her jaw in anger. She glared at him for a few more seconds before she growled and left the table.

Yang and Ruby watched her leave before Ruby turned to Winston with a frown.

"Do you really hate the Faunus that much?" She asked with a hurt tone.

"Yes." He stated with a scowl. "But that's not why I did that. I did that, because I think it is amusing to watch Blake attempt to change my point of view on the matter." Winston glanced down at his mug with a frown as he noticed it was empty. Placing the mug on the tray before him, he continued. "I do have plans to alleviate the Humans and Faunus working in the mines, but not by much. New Air Purifiers, working Water Treatment plants, etc."

Yang raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. "Why the sudden change of heart?" She asked as she stood from the table and stretched her wings.

"There was no change of heart." Winston said as he lifted his tray. "I have had these plans for quite some time, I just have no intention of conforming to any Faunus Right's groups."

Ruby tilted her head as she stood to leave as well. "Why not?" She asked.

Winston chuckled darkly as he turned away. "Because there's only ONE Faunus Right's Group." He said cryptically as he walked away.

"Only one?" Ruby asked as she watched him leave. The others at the table, save maybe Nora, understood what the statement had entailed. Winston was referring to the White Fang.

* * *

 **RWBY Dorm**

Winston was alone in the dorm, doing what any other male teenage billionaire would do if his roommates were gone. He was yelling at people over the phone about how to run his business. He had his overcoat draped over his chair on the opposite side of the room, while his hair was visibly frayed from him running his hands through it in frustration.

Winston growled as he listened to the man on the other end of the line. "Look Garret! I don't care about the details of how you get it here, I just want that shipment of Dust in Vale by midnight tomorrow, otherwise it'll be your job!" He shouted as he hung up on the man. He sighed and took a seat on his bed, taking great care not to hit his head on Ruby's bed, as he had done countless times before.

He groaned and put his face in his hands for a moment before his scroll rang again. With an annoyed sigh, Winston grabbed his scroll and answered. "Winston Jeremiah Schnee speaking." He said for the umpteenth time that day.

A cheery voice could be heard on the other end of the line as Winston's tired face slowly melted into a more aggravated one.

"No. I do not wish to appear on his show. Yes I am certain. Good day." Winston said as he glared down at his scroll. His eye twitched as he opened his contact list and clicked on one of the names. After a few seconds of ringing, the person on the other end answered.

"Schnee Residence. May I inquire as to whom is calling?" A voice with a heavy North Atlesian accent asked.

"It's me Sebastian." Winston spoke.

The voice on the other end seemed to lighten up as he discovered who he was speaking with. "Ah Master Winston! It is indeed good to hear from you! Would you like me to fetch your sisters, or maybe your mother?" Sebastian asked.

"No thanks. I have a task for you though." Winston said. "Someone at the Company released the information that I was going to take over the company to the press." Winston said as he rose from his bed and walked to the window. "I want you to find out who it was and have them f-" Winston paused as he heard the door to his room open.

Turning he saw Blake walking into the room with her eyebrow raised. She had heard him speaking and decided it was the proper moment to walk in. She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Go on. You were about to ruin someones life before I walked in. Don't let me stop you." She hissed.

Winston's eye twitched as he growled slightly.

"Master Winston?" Sebastian called.

"I want you to find them and have them suspended for the next two weeks." He said as he turned away from Blake.

Blake smiled smugly as she walked to her bed and sat down, her eyes still focused on Winston.

"Master, are you feeling well? You seem a touch nervous." Sebastian asked, the worry evident in his tone.

"I am fine. See to it that this task is done swiftly." Winston said. Sebastian swore it would be done, and moved to hang up before Winston spoke once more. "Oh! And Sebastian, don't tell my family that I called. I don't need them worrying about my studies." Sebastian promised once more, then the line went dead.

Winston frowned as he placed his scroll down on the table that sat in front of the window. He leaned on the table with his hands as he let his head drop.

"So..." Blake said with a sly grin. "You do have a heart."

Winston placed his hand on his forehead, and ran it down the length of his face with a long sigh. "I know that you think that I am a horrible person. And while I will never claim to be a saint, I do not mean to come off as I do." Winston said as he continued to look out the window.

"You mean pretentious? Or like how you act like your better than everyone else." She asked in a sarcastic tone.

"I am not a bad person. I do care about the well being of my employees. I am merely being the most efficient." Winston said as he turned. "We can discus why this makes me the devil at a later date. Right now, we need to meet our partners in Vale for our trip to the docks." He finished as he grabbed his coat and walked through the door, Blake following closely behind with a smug grin.

* * *

 **Vale**

Team RWBY were walking through the streets of Vale together as the city started to decorate for the coming festivities. Winston smiled as he held his arms out and looked to one of the signs.

"The Vytal Festival! Oh this is excellent!" He said with a grin.

Ruby placed a hand on her hip and looked at her partner. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much Winston. Kinda gives me the creeps."

Winston spun around, the grin still prominent on his face. "How can you not smile! A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dancing, parades... Combat!" He said as he drew his left blade. "Ah the planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" He finished as they turned to continue down the road.

Yang frowned and crossed her arms. "You really know how to take something fun, and make it sound boring." She said.

Winston's scowl returned as he glanced over his shoulder. "Silence ruffian."

The team turned a corner and came to a railing overlooking the docks at the Port of Vale. Yang raised an eyebrow as she came to the ledge.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon at the docks?"

"Ahh... It smells like fish!" Ruby said as she covered her nose.

"Your a cat! How can you not like the smell of fish?" Winston asked as he looked to his partner.

Ruby stamped her feet as she glared at him. "I'm a BIG CAT Faunus! I like red meat! I can't stand the smell of raw fish..." She finished as she covered her nose again with both hands.

"Hmm..." Winston said as he turned away from Ruby and looked out over the docks. "I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. As Hunters and Huntress's in training, I feel it is our duty to welcome them to our city!" Winston said with a condescending look in his eye.

They turned to walk towards the entrance to the dock and Blake turned to Yang and Ruby. "He want's to spy on them so he can have the upper hand in the tournament." She said flatly.

Winston spun around and crossed his arms. "You can't prove that!" He stammered.

Ruby turned to look down the street, and was met with a familiar sight. "Whoa..."

Down the street was a crime scene the police had set up, surrounding a trashed Dust Shop. Ruby began to walk toward the destroyed building, her team in tow.

"What happened here?" She asked as they approached the tape.

The police officer watching over the crime scene looked down at the girl before he returned to his tablet. "Robbery." He said as he went on with his work.

Ruby frowned. "Well what was stolen?" She asked.

The police officer looked back down at her with a scowl. "Look kid, I don't know why your so curious about what happened here today, but I think you should just go home. Leave this to the professionals." He said as he turned his back to her.

Winston growled and pulled out his scroll. "We ARE the professionals." He stated as he displayed his huntsman in training badge.

The police officer met his scowl and glared down at the badge. "That says that your only a trainee." He stated as he crossed his arms.

"Exactly. But this also gives us the authority to use the police files if we deem it necessary to assist in investigations." Winston finished as he crossed his own arms.

The officer mumbled something under his breath before he turned to look down at Ruby. "Fine. This was a Dust robbery. Second one this week. Cities turning into a god damn jungle." He said as he walked away.

"That's terrible..." Yang said as she scanned over the wreckage.

"They left all the money again!"

Ruby turned to the side where she could hear some of the officer's talking.

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much dust?" One asked as he holstered his gun.

"I don't know, an army?" The policeman from before said.

"You thinking the a, White Fang?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough." The police officer said as he took off his glasses.

Winston scowled as he turned and began to walk. "The White Fang. I thought I had left those filthy degenerates behind when I left Atlas." He growled as he turned the corner, his team behind him.

"What's your problem?" Blake asked.

"I just don't care for terrorists and murderers." Winston said as he turned to Blake.

Blake crossed her arms. "The White Fang are not terrorists! They are a collection of misguided Faunus!"

"Misguided?" Winston asked sarcastically. "They want to wipe Humanity off the face of the planet!"

"So they're very misguided! Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale." Blake said as she scanned over the wreckage.

"Blake has a point." Ruby said. "Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy. Maybe it was him."

Winston paused as he thought over the new information. "I suppose that is a possibility. Even in Atlas we have heard of Torchwick. That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are nothing but scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

Yang frowned. "You know, your on a team with Faunus."

"What's your point?" Winston asked turning to Yang.

"Your being kinda mean. Not all of the White Fang is like that."

As if on some kind of cue...

"Hey! Stop that Faunus!"

The group spun around and sprinted to the railing overlooking the docks, only to see a Faunus with golden blonde hair, and a matching tail sprinting across the deck of a nearby ship. He had an unbuttoned white shirt, displaying his abs and chest to the world, with a pair of rolled up blue cargo pants and black shoes. On each arm he had a red bracer, with bandages wrapped around his shins.

The Faunus leapt up onto the railing of the ship and turned to the crew.

"Thanks for the ride boys!" He shouted with a grin as he jumped down onto the docks and ran off towards the city.

"You no good stowaway!" Shouted one of the sailors.

The Faunus had climbed onto a lamp post and was hanging by his tail, and glanced back over his shoulder towards the boat as he peeled a banana.

"Hey, a no good stowaway would have been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" He declared as he took a bite of his snack. He quickly leaned back to dodge a rock that was thrown his way. Looking down he saw two policemen walk up to him.

"Get down here, this instant." The one who had thrown the rock demanded. He in return, received a banana peel to the face. He growled in frustration as the Faunus jumped over the two and started running up the stairs to the street.

He reached the street and sprinted towards team RWBY, winking at Blake as he passed them. The four watched in shock as he turned the corner, the police hot on his tail.

"Well Winston, you wanted to see the competition... There it goes." Yang said with a grin.

"After him!" Winston shouted as he and Ruby sprinted after him. Blake watched the two go before she and Yang quickly followed. After a short chase through the streets and around corners, the team rounded a corner and stopped sharp when they watched Winston slam into something and go down. Hard.

Winston winced as he sat up and looked to the escaping Faunus. "Blast! He escaped!" He shouted in frustration, failing to notice the person he had crashed into.

"Uhh... Winston?" Yang asked as she pointed to the ground below him.

Winston turned in confusion and saw a girl with orange hair trapped beneath him. He shot to his feet with a slight blush as he furiously apologized, not wanting a repeat of what had happened before with Yang.

The girl had and unsettling smile as she looked up at the group. "Salutations!" She declared as she waved to them.

Ruby looked puzzled as she stared down at the girl. "Umm... Hello." She said.

Yang looked down to her with concern. "Are you okay?" She asked.

The girl on the ground nodded. "I'm wonderful. Thank you for asking." She said.

The four teammates looked to each other in confusion before turning back to the girl. "Do you wanna get up?" Yang asked.

The girl paused for a moment before nodding. "Yes." She stated before vaulting onto her feet and turning the the team, who each took a step back. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!" She said cheerfully.

"Hi Penny... I'm Ruby!"

"My names Winston.

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Yang asked before receiving an elbow in the ribs. "Oh! I'm Yang!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you! But I already know you." Penny said as she turned to Winston.

"We've met?" He asked confused.

Penny shook her head. "Nope. I was tasked with finding you and informing you that the General wishes to meet with you!" She said happily.

"The General? Who's that?" Ruby asked as she looked at Penny.

"A pompous old windbag." Winston growled as he glared at Penny, a newfound distaste for the girl surfacing. "You can tell the General that I have no intention of meeting with him. The weapon contracts with the Atlesian military will remain the same as they have always been."

Penny frowned. "I don't think the General will be very happy about that."

Winston scowl had returned to his face as he turned away. "I truly care not what the General's mood is."

Ruby waved goodbye to Penny as they turned to leave. "Take care friend." She said as she followed her team.

"She was... Weird." Yang stated as she looked towards Winston.

Winston nodded in agreement as he scanned the rooftops. "Indeed. Now then, where did that criminal run off to?"

They froze in place as they saw Penny standing before them. Winston looked back to where they had just seen her and to where she was now with shock, while Yang tried to apologize.

"Oh I'm sorry! I definitely didn't think you could hear me!" She stated.

Penny shook her head. "No, not you." She said as she walked passed Yang towards Ruby. "You!" She said as she leaned towards her.

Winston's hand moved to his weapon instinctively as he watched Penny get closer to Ruby. "Me? I-I don't know I-"

"You called me friend! Am I really your friend?" Penny asked as she stared down at the smaller girl.

Ruby turned to her team, who were all furiously shaking their head no. "Uhh... Sure." She said, causing her team to fall over in shock.

Penny giggled slightly before she threw her hands into the air. "Sensational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" She yelled happily.

Ruby frowned and leaned towards Winston. "Is this what it was like when you met me?" She asked sadly.

Winston shook his head. "Nope. She seems far more coordinated."

Yang could sense the awkward pause coming, and decided to speak next. "So... What are you doing in Vale?" She asked.

"I'm here to fight in the tournament!" She stated happily.

"Wait! You're fighting in the tournament?" Winston asked.

Penny nodded and saluted him. "I'm combat ready!" She stated.

Winston frowned. "Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."

"What about your business suit?" Blake asked as she glanced at what Winston wore beneath his coat.

"I run a multi-billion dollar corporation. You never know when your going to need to be in a meeting." Winston said as he crossed his arms. He squinted at Penny before he walked up to her and looked into her eyes. "Wait a moment. If your here for the tournament, does that mean you know that Monkey tailed rapscallion?" He asked as Blake glared at him.

"The who?" Penny asked as she stared confusedly at Winston's face.

"The criminal Faunus from the boat!" He shouted as he held up a crudely draw picture of the boy.

"Why do you keep saying that!?" Blake demanded.

"Huh?" Winston asked as he turned to look at Blake.

"Stop calling him a rapscallion, stop calling him a criminal! He's a person!" She shouted as she walked up to Winston.

"Oh, I'm sorry, would you like me to stop referring to this trashcan as a trashcan? Or this lamp post as a lamp post?" He asked sarcastically.

"Stop it!" Blake demanded.

"Stop what!? He clearly broke the law! Give him some time, he'll probably join up with those other criminals in the White Fang." He finished as he glared at Blake.

She clenched her fist and glared at him. "You ignorant little brat!" She hissed as she turned away and stormed off.

Winston growled as he removed his hand from his blades. "I can't believe that the only other human on my team is a White Fang sympathizer. This is just my luck." He grumbled as he stalked off after Blake.

Yang and Ruby shared a look of confusion as they watched the two leave.

"Winston think's Blake's a Human?" Ruby asked.

Yang shrugged. "Human's can't tell people apart by their scent like we can. Guess Blake is just really good at hiding her trait." Yang said as she followed the other two, cursing her improved hearing that allowed her to hear their banter.

* * *

 **RWBY Dorm**

Winston slammed the door to the room open as they returned later that night. "I just don't see why this is such a big issue!" Winston shouted as he threw Myrtenaster and it's partner onto his bed.

"That is the issue!" Blake hissed as she walked to her own bed.

"You do realize that your defending an organization that hates humanity, don't you?" Winston asked as he turned to Blake with a deep scowl. "The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

"There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate humanity so much!? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you! That force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!" Blake shouted as she glared at Winston.

"People like me!?" Winston demanded as he placed a hand on his chest.

"Your discriminatory!"

"I'm a survivor!" Winston roared as he stepped towards Blake. Ruby stepped behind Yang as she felt the Aura rolling off of Winston. His usual calm and collected mask had vanished, replaced instead by pure and unbridled rage.

"Do you want to know why I hate the White Fang!? Why I can't stand to be around the Faunus!?" Winston growled as he turned towards the shattered moon. "It's because of what happened to my family 8 months ago."

"Your family?" Blake asked as she glared at him.

"Yes. My family. 8 months ago, my father met in secret with the leader of the White Fang to negotiate a deal. He would improve the conditions in the mines, in exchange, the White Fang would stop attacking Schnee freighters." Winston said as he turned to glare back at Blake. "That deal must sound pretty fair to you huh. Leave us alone, and you get what you wanted." He asked sarcastically.

"Well I-" Blake started, but Winston cut her off.

"NO!" He roared. "There was another part of the deal. The White Fang and the Schnee's have been at war for over a decade! They wouldn't leave us alone for such a little agreement. No, they wanted more."

"As they should have!" Blake shouted as she walked up to him. "Your family treats the Faunus horribly!"

"THEY DEMANDED MY SISTERS!" He roared as he grabbed her by the shoulders, all semblance of his once calm and collected demeanor gone.

Blake's eyes widened slightly as she heard what he said. "What..."

Winston's eyes burned as he glared down at Blake. "They didn't want more care for the Faunus! They wanted retribution! They wanted to kill my sisters publicly, so that it would send a message to the other companies that they were serious!" He growled. "And my father agreed."

Winston released Blake, who spun backwards from the sudden shove before falling on her bed. He walked to the window and leaned on the table before it. "As you may be able to guess, he said nothing of this to my sisters or my mother. Only to me. He thought that I would go along with it, and that I would help him to protect the Schnee Dust Companies name."

Winston turned to Yang. "Would you let a city burn, if it meant saving Ruby?" He asked with a quiet voice. Without hesitation she nodded. "The bond between siblings is one of the strongest that can be forged. I would sooner see my company burn that give my sisters to those murders."

Winston turned and glared at Blake. "A week later, they showed up at our house. My father made certain that both girls would be home, and had my mother leave with him. He didn't count on me telling Winter about his little plan though. She graduated from Atlas Academy 10 years ago, and with her help, we tore those filthy Faunus to shreds, painting the white walls of Schnee Castle with their blood." He said as his fury began to reach it's peak.

"Before I could celebrate the victory, I heard a scream. We had told our little sister to hide while we fought so she wouldn't get hurt. We didn't count on someone entering from the back of the house." Winston said as he walked to his bed and grabbed his blades. "When I reached her room, some bastard with red hair and bull horns had her by the waist, and had a sword on her neck."

Blake froze as she listened to the story. Each detail showing more and more of Winston's character than before.

"He spouted something about how the Schnee's couldn't be trusted, and how they knew that the father was trying to lure them into a trap. He wasn't though, my father was perfectly willing to let my sisters die. Before Winter and I could react, he slit her throat, then let her fall to the ground. My body moved on instinct, and I charged him. One slash, and it was over. He drew his blade and gave me this!" Winston shouted as he pointed to the scarred and blinded eye.

"He got away before Winter could stop him." Winston said, the anger in his voice bleeding through each word. "Winter managed to get our sister to the hospital in time for them to operate and save her life, but at a cost." He stated as he looked to Blake. "My little sister is mute. She can never speak again because of those monsters!" He shouted as he stormed up to her, causing Blake to take a step back.

"Now I had hated the White Fang for a different reason for many years before that... But that was the day I made my final decision." Winston said as he pulled the black rubber caps off the ends of the hilts for his swords.

"What decision?" Ruby asked as she peaked out from behind her sister.

"The day I got my scar and lost my eye, the day my little sister lost her voice, and the day I cut off my fathers arm and threw him in jail, I forged this." He said as he displayed the ends of each blade. The one on his right, had an 'M' on the end, while the left had a 'D' on it. "This one." He said as he lifted the right one. "Is Myrtenaster. The first blade I owned, and the one for with which I kill Grimm. And this one." He said as he lifted the left one. "Is Destiny. I forged this weapon, so that the next time I meet that red haired bastard, I can end his life with it." He finished as he sheathed his blades and placed the rubber caps back on each end.

Winston placed his swords on his bed and turned to Blake. "You wanted to know why I hate the White Fang? There you go. I will never forgive any of them. They are a bunch of liars, thieves and murderers!" Winston shouted as he got into Blake's face.

Blake didn't know why she spoke when she did, it was more of a reflex. "Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" She shouted as she glared at him.

Winston's eyes went wide as he took a couple of steps back. "W-what did you say!?" He asked with a shocked tone.

Blake looked scared and cornered as she scanned the room. "I-I..." She stammered before she bolted out of the room.

"Blake wait!" Ruby shouted as she watched her go. She turned to Winston, who was slowly growing more and more enraged by the second.

"HOW DARE SHE!" He roared as he grabbed Destiny and tore out of the room after her, tearing apart the hall as he went.

* * *

 **Beacon Courtyard**

Blake had managed to lose Winston before she even realized that he was following, leaving the angry man to tear the school grounds apart in his quest. She came to a stop before the statue of two hunters from ages past. Blake looked down towards the Beowolf on the bottom with a sad frown before reaching up to her bow.

She pulled on the ends of the bow and felt as it came loose in her hands. She whipped away a tear as her ears felt the breeze hitting them for the first time in months.

"I knew you would look better without the bow!"

Blake turned to where she had heard the unknown voice from.

* * *

 **Beacon Cafeteria**

Yang and Ruby finally managed to catch up with Winston, only to find him trapped in a headlock by a man literally twice his size in a giant suit of armor.

"Release me! I must catch her!" Winston shouted as he stabbed at the suit.

"I don't know what your problem is kid, but it's way passed your curfew! It's hard enough for us to sneak a midnight snack without you rampaging around the school breaking shit!" The man in the armor shouted as he tightened his hold.

* * *

 **Okay, so this chapter is a little bit shorter than my normal ones, but I didn't want to try to pack two huge episodes into one chapter. In the next chapter we will finish Volume One, then take a short break before I write for Volume Two.**

 **As always, leave a review telling me what you liked or disliked about this chapter, and remember to vote! We're only like six chapters or so away from the reveal of CFVY as a whole. (Please vote for a male Fox, I really don't know how I'm going to write for an all female team CFVY.)**


	6. Battle On The Port

**So it looks like most of you want to see Coco remain female, and want to see Yatsuhashi as a girl. I'm going to have a hell of a time finding a name for her.**

 **I'm starting to see some people becoming inquisitive about Professor Thorne's armor. This is making me very excited, and I can't wait until I finish this Volume so I can do his chapter. The next 3-4 chapters are planned to be a filler before I start on Volume 2, just so this story doesn't feel so carbon copied from the actual series.**

 **Coco - Female: 5 - Male: 0**

 **Yatsuhashi - Female: 3 - Male: 0**

 **Fox - Female: 3 - Male: 4**

 **Just cast your votes in a review, as I can't seem to get the Poll's on my profile to work properly.**

 **Now then, as Silver wolf pointed out, this story will still contain the Maidens, I merely forgot to account for one thing... PYRRHUS IS A DUDE! Oh I fucked up so hard... None the less, I came up with a solution! However, as I have this being a slightly Fan-driven story, I will let you all vote on which idea you like better.**

 **My Idea to be revealed later: 1**

 **Female Maidens and Male Knights: 1**

 **[POLLS CLOSED]**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of it's affiliated characters.**

* * *

 **Headmasters Office**

Winston sat on his knees with his hands cuffed behind his back as Glynda and Ozpin stared at him from behind his desk. Winston's team, minus Blake, and Professor Thorne were standing on either side of him holding his weapons. Thorne was crouching slightly due to his massive size.

"Mr. Schnee." Glynda began. Winston tilted his head up towards her, his glare faltering as he felt the cuffs digging into his wrists. "In the last hour, you have broken curfew, done significant damage to school property, attempted to assault a member of your own team, and assaulted a member of the staff." She said as she looked over at the small scratched on Thorne's chest-plate.

Winston scoffed. "You are lecturing me on breaking rules, when you allowed a terrorist to attend this academy?" Winston chuckled darkly as he lowered his head again. "Pathetic."

Ozpin stared coldly down at the boy before him.

"Mr. Schnee, may I remind you that this school accepts only the most skilled and intelligent of applicants. If they can prove that they are capable of being in this school, then they may be granted admittance." Glynda said as she adjusted her glasses.

"Did you know that she was in the White Fang?" He asked as he kept his head facing the floor.

"Whether or not we knew of Miss Belladonna's past is irr-" But Glynda was cut off before she could finish.

"DID YOU KNOW!?" Winston snapped as he aimed his glare towards Ozpin.

Ozpin's cold stare remained constant as he watched the flurry of emotions dancing across his face. "Yes." He replied calmly.

Winston's glare returned as he looked to the headmaster, who was remaining calm throughout the whole discussion.

"Mr. Schnee." Ozpin started as he rose from his seat. "I have no obligation to reveal the past of any of my students to anyone that they have not already told." He continued as he walked around his desk, cane and mug in hand, and stopped before Winston. "Less than an hour ago, you went on a rampage across the school that caused significant damage to the dorms, then assaulted on of my professors."

Winston's eyes followed Ozpin as he began to pace around the room. "From what I can tell, based on your mood, this was exactly why Miss Belladonna was so adamant about not revealing her past to you."

"Because I would attempt to reprimand her?" Winston asked sarcastically.

"Because you would act rashly." Ozpin corrected. "When you discovered Miss Belladonna's past, did you ask her about it? Or did you immediately default to an attack?" Ozpin questioned as he turned to look at Winston.

Winston looked to the floor and glared. "You don't know what they did to my family." He ground out as he stared at the floor.

"On the contrary, I know full well what the Fang did to your family." Ozpin said as he turned to look out the window. "I had a chat with your mother when you attempted to enroll here. Though it is not required to get a parent's confirmation on a students enrollment, I like to try to speak with them anyway."

Winston looked up to Ozpin in shock. "If you knew, then why did you not tell me about her!?" He demanded.

"Because it was not my secret to share." Ozpin stated as he glanced over his shoulder towards Winston. "You are attempting to pass the blame onto myself and the staff for not revealing to you that Miss Belladonna was a Faunus, when you yourself have many secrets that you refuse to share with your team."

Ozpin turned and began to walk towards Winston. "Every Huntsman and Huntress has their share of skeletons in their closet, and part of their own past that they would rather not share." Ozpin knelled down in front of Winston and leaned closer to his face. "Your team are the people that a Huntsman should trust above all others. Miss Belladonna is likely scared at this moment, and is somewhere in Vale. I want your team to find her." He stated as he got back to his feet.

"You can count on us!" Ruby stated as she saluted.

Ozpin chuckled slightly at the young girls cheery attitude despite the time of day. "Once the sun rises, you three shall board a bullhead and return to Vale to search for your missing teammate. In the mean time, I trust that the Schnee Dust Company will pay for the repairs of the school dorms?" Ozpin asked as he looked down to Winston.

His glare still present, he nodded.

"Excellent. Now then, I am going back to sleep. I suggest you all do the same. Thorne, release Mr. Schnee." Ozpin commanded.

Thorne reached down and snapped the cuffs off and handed Destiny back to Winston.

Team RWBY turned to leave the office. Once they were inside the elevator and descending the tower, Glynda looked to Thorne's armor. There was a slight bit of green and black fog slipping out from the scratch in a joint of the armor.

She frowned as she moved her riding crop, causing a nearby towel to move to block the fog. Thorne looked to her in confusion as she spoke.

"You need to go to the armory right now while the students are asleep and get that hole patched up. We cant have any of the student being affected by that."

* * *

 **Vale**

"Finally, she speaks!" Sun said as he threw his arms up in the air. He had found Blake a few days ago at the statue in front of Beacon and had invited her to stay with him down in Vale. "Almost two days, and you've given me nothing but small talk and weird looks!" He said with a grin, causing Blake to scowl. "Yeah, like that."

Blake rolled her eyes and stared at the boy across from her.

"Sun... Are you familiar with the White Fang?" Blake asked.

Sun raised an eyebrow and looked over at Blake. "Of course! I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet that hasn't heard of them." He said as he waved his arms so dismiss the question. "Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps who use force to get whatever they want." He finished as he started to take a drink from his tea. "Bunch a freaks if you ask me."

Blake calmly sipped her tea as she stared down at the table.

"I was... Once a member of the White Fang." Blake stated as she turned to meet his eyes.

Sun spit his tea out across the table as he started to cough and hack. "Wait a minute! 'You' were a member of the White Fang!?" He asked with equal parts shock and surprise.

Blake nodded. "That's right. I was a member for most of my life. You could almost say I was born into it." Blake started as she leaned back into her chair. "Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between the Humans and the Faunus." She continued as she stared across at the dumbfounded boy before her. "Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subject to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so the White Fang rose up as the voice of our people."

"And I was there. I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. And I actually thought I was making a difference... But I was just a youthful optimist... Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking. Suddenly our peaceful protests were becoming organized attacks. We set fire to shops that refused to serve us, and hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor." Blake said as she placed her cup on the table.

"The worst part was? It was working. We were finally being treated as equals. But not out of respect... Out of fear." Blake finished as she looked at her own reflection in her tea. "So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence. Instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So here I am, A criminal hiding in plain sight. All with the help of a little, black bow." She said as she glanced up at the hair accessory and twitched her ears.

Sun looked across at Blake in shock as he took in everything she had told him. "So... Have you told your friends any of this?" He asked.

* * *

 **Somewhere Else In Vale**

"BLAAAKE?!" Ruby called as she, Yang and Winston walked down the sidewalk in search of their missing teammate.

"BLAAAKE?!" Yang called as she scanned the tops of the roofs for her partner.

"BLAAAKE?! Where are you!?" Ruby shouted again as she cupped her hands around her mouth.

"BLAKE!?" Yang shouted once more before she and Ruby turned to glare at Winston.

"Winston, your not helping!" Ruby accused as she watched him glance up from his scroll.

"Yes well, forgive me for not disrupting the peace of Vale by joining in your incessant shouting." He said flatly as he looked back down to his scroll. "I have other matters to deal with, such as transferring the proper funds to have the school repaired." Winston glared over at his partner and her sister before speaking again. "But do you know who might be able to help? The Police."

Ruby crossed her arms as her ears twitched in annoyance. "Winston..." She growled.

"It was merely a suggestion." He stated as he gave Ruby an annoyed look.

"Yeah, a bad one." Ruby mumbled as she turned and continued on down the sidewalk.

"Winston, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions." Yang said as she pulled Winston along by his arm, the latter clearly being annoyed by the act.

"Unhand me you brute!" He shouted as he pulled himself free of Yang's grip. He adjusted his sleeve before following his team. "When we find her, I shall be generous." Winston stated.

"That's the spirit." Yang said with a smile.

"I shall give her thirty seconds to convince me that she is not a spy. If I am not satisfied with what she has to tell me, I shall use Destiny to end her life." He growled out as he placed his scroll in his pocket.

"That's less of the spirit, but at least you want to help us find her." Yang said sadly as she turned away from him.

"What? I just believe that when we find her, you'll all realize that I was right!" He stated as he kept pace alongside Yang.

"And I believe that Yang's hair looks wonderful today!" A voice from behind them stated.

"AGH! Penny! Where did you come from!?" Ruby shrieked as the team spun around to meet their pursuer.

Penny waved to the three with a smile. "Hey guys! What are you up to?" She asked with a grin.

"Uhhhhh..." Ruby started.

"We're looking for our friend Blake." Yang stated as she looked over to Penny.

Penny nodded. "Oh! You mean the Faunus girl with the black hair!" She said.

Winston's brow twitched in annoyance. "Was I the only one who didn't know she was a Faunus?!" He shouted angrily.

"Wait Penny, how did you know that?" Ruby asked as she tilted her head tot he side.

Penny raised an eyebrow and pointed to her own bow. "Uh... The cat ears?" She stated as thought it was completely obvious.

Yang snorted as she crossed her arms. "What cat ears? She wears a... Bow..."

There was a brief pause where the rest of team RWBY seemed to finally realize what Blake's animal trait was, the only sound being heard was Winston slapping his forehead.

"She does like tuna a-lot..." Ruby whispered as she looked towards Yang.

Penny looked around the street they were on. "So, where is she?" She asked innocently.

Ruby shook her head. "We don't know. She's been missing since Friday."

Penny gasped and moved past Yang and Winston and grabbed Ruby by the shoulders. "That's terrible! Well don't you worry Ruby my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammate!" She stated as she placed her hands on her hips.

Ruby's eyes went wide as she panicked slightly. "Ah... That's really nice Penny, but we-we're okay. Right guys?" She asked as she looked to the side to find the rest of her team gone.

" _Unhand me this instant!_ " She heard as she looked to the sky. Yang had grabbed Winston and was flying off towards the opposite side of the city.

'Thanks guys.' Ruby thought as she turned back to Penny.

Penny looked around for the other teammates as well before turning to look at Ruby. "Your team seems to have vanished." She stated flatly.

* * *

 **Still Elsewhere In Vale**

Sun and Blake walked down the sidewalk away from the coffee shop they had been at previously.

"So... What's the plan now?" Sun asked as he glanced at Blake.

Blake sighed and placed a hand under her chin. "I still don't believe that the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much dust before." She said as she stopped and looked at Sun.

Sun paused for a moment. "What if they did?" He asked as he turned to look down at Blake. "I mean... The only way to prove that they didn't do it, would be to go to the place they would most likely go if they were to do it, and not find them there..." Sun said as he stepped in front of Blake. "Right?"

Blake paused for a moment and looked down at her feet. "The only thing is, I have no idea where that would be."

Sun placed his hands on his hips triumphantly. "Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about unloading a 'huge' shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

Blake turned to look at Sun. "How huge?"

Sun waved his arms in the air. "Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter."

"You're sure?" She asked.

* * *

Winston and Yang walked out of a store as Yang waved to the cashier.

"Thank's anyway!" She called as the door closed behind her. She turned to Winston with a frown. "This is hopeless!" She said as she turned to see Winston with his usual scowl staring down at his scroll. "You really don't care if we find her do you?" She asked sadly.

Winston placed his scroll in his pocket and glanced at Yang. "Don't be a fool. Of course I care, I'm just concerned about what she'll say when we find her." He said as he rested his hand on his rapiers. "The innocent never run Yang. Now come on, I just got word that one of my companies freighters has arrived in port." Winston said as he turned and began to walk away from the store.

* * *

"So. Blake is your friend?" Penny asked as she and Ruby walked down the street.

Ruby threw her head back and sighed. "Yes, Penny."

"But... Your mad at her?" Penny asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! W-well I'm not, Winston is."

"Is he friends with Blake?" Penny asked.

"Well that's kind of up in the air right now." Ruby said as she turned to look at Penny.

"But why?" Penny asked.

Ruby sighed and placed a hand on her head in frustration. "Well you see, Blake might not be who we thought she was."

Penny gasped and leaned towards Ruby and started to whisper. "Is she a man?" She asked.

Ruby's hands shot up as she quickly waved them in front of her face. "No, no, Penny, She's n-" Ruby sighed and placed her hands at her sides. "I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly talk to us before she ran off."

Penny tilted her head to the side. "I don't have a-lot of friends, but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things." Penny said as she met Ruby's eyes.

Ruby paused for a moment and looked to the ground before she started walking again. "Me too." She said.

* * *

 **6 Hours Later. Vale Port**

Blake was laying atop one of the warehouse buildings scanning the port for any signs of the White Fang.

"Did I miss anything?"

Blake turned her head to see Sun flop down beside her on the roof with something in his hands.

"Not really. They've offloaded all the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there." She said as she glanced around.

"Cool." Sun said as he grabbed an apple out of his arms and held it out to Blake. "Stole you some food." He finished with a grin.

Blake looked up at him with a slightly annoyed expression. "You always break the law without a second thought?" She asked.

Sun scowled. "Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Blake glared up at him. "Okay, too soon."

* * *

Winston and Yang were walking around the port inspecting the shipment that had arrived only a couple hours prior.

"Why are we here again?" Yang asked as she followed Winston through the maze of shipping containers.

"I ordered this shipment to be here last night." He said as he opened one of the containers to inspect it's contents.

"So aren't you happy that it is finally here?" She asked as she looked around him into the container.

"No. This ship had the ability to deliver it's cargo over a week ago. It's suspicious to me that it took two and a half weeks to deliver a shipment from the port in Atlas, to the port in Vale." Winston said as he closed the door and moved to the next container.

"Suspicious how?" Yang asked as she looked over to the warehouses.

"I mean the it's suspicious that one of the Schnee Companies best freighters was missing for three days, then suddenly reports back and says it's going to be a week late in port. It only takes a week and a half to get to Vale from Atlas by sea." Winston said as he looked inside the container and saw a blinking light in the far back.

"Maybe they got held up by the Grimm. Those Sea Grimm can be hard to deal with if you don't have weapons that can reach under water." Yang said as she watched Winston crawl inside of the container.

"As reasonable an explanation that may be..." Winston said as he slid back out of the container with a blinking red light in his hand. "I'm afraid that this time, it's a bit more sinister." He handed the device to Yang and she flipped it over.

"A tracking device?" She asked as she crushed it in her hand.

Winston nodded. "And I have a pretty good idea of who put it there."

Just as Winston finished his sentence, the two heard the roar of the engines of a Bullhead in the distance and moved behind the shipping container. The Bullhead's search lights scanned the clearing in the center of the port before landing and deploying a docking platform. Winston peaked out from behind his container to see several White Fang grunts walking down the ramp.

"I knew it." He growled as he drew Destiny from it's place on his hip.

"Grab the tow cables!" One of the grunts shouted as the others around him dispersed to do their assigned task.

Winston turned away from the edge and looked over to Yang. "Call the police." He said as he moved past her to the other side of the container.

"What are you gonna do?" Yang asked as she watched him crouch at the opposite side and peak out at the Bullhead.

"Something dumb."

Just as Winston spoke, a new and eerily familiar voice caught Yang's attention.

"HEY! What's the hold up!?" Roman shouted as he walked out of the Bullhead and onto the ramp.

"Torchwick?" Yang asked as she waved Winston back to her.

"We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, soooo why don't you animals try to pick up the pace!" He demanded as he walked down the ramp.

"Who's that?" Winston asked.

"That's Roman Torchwick. Head of Vale's Underground. He's the one Ruby chased away a couple of months ago that secured her a spot in Beacon." Yang said as she shifted her gauntlets into their active mode.

"That would explain why she's so much younger that us." Winston said as he peaked around the corner. "Doesn't look like a Faunus... What's he doing with the White Fang?" Winston asked.

Yang saw something move out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Sun on top of a nearby warehouse. "Doesn't look like he's alone." She said as she pointed at Sun. "I see one on the top of the building, and I think I saw someone jump down."

"Great. You call the police yet?" Winston asked.

"Haven't really had the time." She replied with sarcasm in her voice.

"No you idiot! This isn't a leash!" Roman said as he walked away from the grunt. He suddenly felt someone grab him from behind and felt the cold steel of a blade at his neck. "What the- Oh for the-"

"Nobody move!" Blake shouted as she used Roman as a shield.

"Whoa! Take it easy there little lady." Roman said with a smug grin. Several more grunts surrounded the two as Blake scanned the group before her.

Blake reached back with her free hand and undid her bow, allowing for the White Fang to see her cat ears. "Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?" She demanded.

"Heh, oh kid. Didn't you get the memo?" Roman asked as he glance back at Blake.

"What are you talking about?" Blake demanded as she pressed her blade closer to Roman's neck.

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together." He said, his smug grin refusing to falter.

"Tell me what it is, or I'll put an end to your little operation." Blake threatened.

Blake's hair was suddenly whipped around her as several more Bullheads appeared above her, their searchlights illuminating the area.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation." Roman said as he looked up at the Bullheads.

Roman grinned as out of the corner of his eye he saw Blake become distracted by the Bullheads. He moved Melodic Cudgel to the side and fired an explosive round right between Blake's feet, sending her sprawling away.

Roman turned and fired another shot at Blake while she was still on the ground. She managed to roll out of the way of the first shot, but was forced to continue her retreat as he fired a barrage of blasts her direction.

Roman watched Blake avoid his final shot with her semblance before ducking behind some containers. He smirked as he began to walk forward. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty." He said.

"Woohoo!" Roman looked up to the sky, only to be met with a banana peel to the face. He growled as he tore the offending object from his face and glared up at the thrower.

Sun jumped down and landed feet first on Roman's chest, knocking the man to the ground. Sun rolled froward and got to his feet before turning to glare at the enemies before him. "Leave her alone." He commanded.

The hatch to the Bullhead above him opened and dropped more White Fang as Roman got back to his feet. Several more dropped behind Sun as he turned to face Roman.

"You are not the brightest banana in the bunch are you kid?" Roman asked as he waved his hand in the air.

As the White Fang moved to attack Sun, there was an explosion off to the right that drew everyone's attention. The Bullhead that was on the ground was lying on it's side covered in flames.

"My ship!" Roman screamed as he watched the flames climb higher.

From behind the flaming wreckage of the ship emerged two silhouettes. One had long golden hair that danced erratically from the heat of the fire, the other had a piercing blue eye and a white coat that reflected the light of the fire like a mirror. In the hands of the silhouette that bore a white coat were two rapiers that shined brightly as he strolled past the destroyed Bullhead. The other had two shining gold gauntlets that enveloped her forearms and caused a glare that obscured her face.

Roman watched as the two forms strolled closer and turned to his men. "What are you just standing there for?! Get them!" He stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Three white Fang lead the charge as they closed in on the forms. The woman with the gauntlets moved first, dashing forwards and knocking the first aside while drilling her fist into the second's gut, causing him to be sent flying past the group.

The third wasn't so lucky, as he charge the man in white. Quicker than the rest of the crowd could follow, the third mans head was parted from his body. The group watched in shock as the mans body fell to the ground and his head bounced to the side. The man in white stalked past the corpse as it whipped it's blade to the side to clean the blood from it.

Roman looked surprised to say the least. "Looks like this one means business..." He said as he turned to block a strike from Sun. "Damn, I forgot about you!" He growled out as he brought the hook of his cane around and knocked the blonde boy back.

"He's mine!" Blake shouted as she leapt towards Torchwick's back while he was busy dealing with Sun. Roman hooked his cane on Sun's staff and swung him around, causing him to slam into Blake midair. The two collapsed into a heap as Roman chuckled.

"I recognize that attack style." He said as he waved his cane around ahead of him. "You must be a student from Beacon."

Blake rolled off of Sun and jumped to her feet. "How do you know that?" She asked as she swung her sword towards him, only to have it knocked away.

"Try to keep up deary, I graduated near the top of my class ten years ago at Beacon. I would recognize the style they teach anywhere." He said with a grin as he slammed his cane into Blake's side. "Almost makes me sentimental."

Blake flew backwards past Sun as he got to his feet and separated his staff into a pair of nun-chucks. He dashed towards Torchwick and began to rapidly swing his weapons, each one firing a dust shell as it reached it's maximum distance. Roman and Sun began to trade blows at a rapid pace before Roman managed to knock Sun's nun-chucks to the side, only to be met with the blade of Blake's sword.

Roman slid back a few feet and stopped on his back. He glared at the duo as he climbed to his feet and glanced above them with a grin. He raised Melodic Cudgel high above his head and fired one shot at the crane that was holding up a shipping container. The blast connected and caused the cables holding the container to snap. Sun and Blake rolled away from the container and braced their ears for the impending impact.

...

...

...

But it never came. Blake and Sun had separated when the container began to fall, and now they had been separated by a wall of spilled dust, and massive ice spires that had formed and skewered the falling container.

"Ice? But how?" She asked as she reached for the wall.

"Ahem!"

Blake spun around only to find a scene of complete destruction. The White Fang behind Winston were either in piece's, or they had been knocked into craters on the ground or containers. Winston himself had no blood on him, but Destiny was dripping with it. Yang gave a grunt of annoyance as she dropped the last White Fang she had and tucked her wings in.

"When this fight is over, we're going to have a long talk about the proper conduct when your a part of a team." Winston growled out as he glared down at Blake.

It was the first time that Blake had truly felt like a deer staring into the headlights as she stared into Winston's eyes. They held no remorse, none of the anger or contempt that they had held a few nights ago when she had run, now replaced with an empty gaze.

On the other side of the ice wall, Sun had been cornered by Roman. Sun backed up against the wall and stared ahead as Roman aimed his cane down at him with a grin.

"No!"

Both of them turned to see Ruby standing atop a nearby warehouse.

"Oh, hello red! Isn't it past your bed time?" Roman asked as he took a few steps towards the warehouse.

"Ruby, are these people your friends?" Penny asked as she walked up to the edge of the roof.

"Penny get back." Ruby said.

Roman narrowed his eyes and aimed his cane at Ruby. He quickly fired a shot before she could react. Ruby turned just as the blast reached her and was blown back across the roof by the resulting explosion.

Roman chuckled evilly as he turned back to sun and started to fire at him.

Ruby groaned as she sat forward and saw Penny walking to the edge. "Penny wait! Stop!" She shouted as she reached out for her.

Penny looked back over her shoulder as she smiled at Ruby. "Don't worry Ruby! I'm combat ready!" She declared as she turned back to the fight.

Penny's backpack opened and a sword slid out, only to split into ten swords. Penny leapt off of the roof with great force, as the roof began to crumble once she left. As she flew down towards the fight, the swords flew ahead of her, skewering or knocking White Fang grunts aside as they impaled the ground. Penny landed gracefully and looked around with a smile.

He swords flowed like water as she moved them around with her hands, each set of blades moving as one in a line, before pulling back to her in the form of a disc. Penny threw her hand towards a mob of grunts that were charging her, and the blades followed her command. The large spinning disc flew towards the group, knocking most of them aside as it traveled.

Several more Bullheads arrived in the air above the port and began to fire at Penny, who brought her swords back to shield herself. Two more swords popped out of her backpack and latched anchored themselves in the wall of the building behind her, before dragging her along with them. Penny landed with a skid as she formed her blades into a cylinder and began to spin them.

As they spun faster, a green energy began to build in the center before she pushed her hands forward, causing a huge beam of energy to slice through two of the new Bullheads. The crew's fell to the ground as the bisected ships glided past Ruby and crashed into the water. The last Bullhead attempted to escape with it's container of dust, but found itself being pulled to the side as Penny had anchored several of her swords to the side of the ship.

Roman watched as Penny gave one last pull and dragged the Bullhead down into a pile of shipping containers. He growled and ran to the new Bullhead that had managed to avoid the laser. He turned to look at the carnage caused by the students. "These kids are really starting to get on my nerves." He mumbled as he pulled the hatch closed. Penny watched as the remaining Bullhead flew away before signaling her contacts that there was a crime in progress at the docks.

* * *

 **RWBY Dorm**

Team RWBY walked through the door to their room, each member physically and mentally spent from the past two days of searching and fighting.

Winston stretched and heard his back crack and gave a satisfied yawn as he walked towards his bed.

"Good to be back in our own beds." Yang said as she jumped onto her bunk.

"It's been a long day." Ruby stated as she crawled into her bed as well.

"It will be nice to sleep in my own bed again." Blake said as she started towards her bed.

"Yes... About that." Winston said as he spun around with Destiny in hand. Before Yang or Ruby could stop him, he froze the sisters to their beds and pinned Blake against the wall. The Blade of Destiny was on her neck and he could see genuine fear in her eyes from the sudden attack.

"Winston! Wait!" Ruby cried as she tried to pull her hands free from the ice.

"Silence!" Winston snapped as he glanced at Ruby. "I said I would give her a chance to explain, this is that time." Winston turned back to Blake and glared at her, pressing the blade closer to her throat. "You have thirty seconds to convince me that your not a spy for the White Fang."

Blake stared at him dumbfounded. 'I just assisted in protecting your families Dust shipment from them!' She thought to herself as she stared at the boy before her.

"Twenty-five." Winston stated.

"Oh! Uhh..." Blake started. "I fought them with you tonight!" She said.

"Could have easily been staged. You were gone for two days, who knows who you got into contact with in that time. Twenty." Winston said as his glare intensified.

"I willingly admitted to being in the White Fang!" She said, hoping her honesty would buy her life.

"That was just a stupid thing to do after I told you that I hated them. Fifteen." Winston said flatly.

'Think Blake, think!' She repeated in her head.

"Ten."

'What do I say!?' She thought.

"Nine."

"I tried to interrogate Torchwick for intel tonight!" She shouted.

"And failed. Eight." He replied.

"I didn't run away after the docks!"

"You were already caught. You had nowhere left to run! Seven!" He shouted.

'Shit! What do I say!?'

"Six."

"I-I-I..." Blake stammered, attempting to find the correct words.

"Five."

'I'm gonna die!' She thought.

"Four."

Blake opened her mouth, but no words would come out. She was literally scared speechless.

"Three."

Her eyes darted around the room, looking for anything that could help her. Yang and Ruby were still trying to break free of the ice, and she had no weapon to defend herself, as Gambol Shroud was on her bed.

"Two."

'AHHHHHH!' She screamed mentally.

"One." Winston growled as he reached back with his sword, ready to run her through.

Blake's eyes landed on a picture frame that had fallen over. 'That's it!' She thought.

"I'm sorry!" She shouted, causing Winston to pause.

Winston pressed the blade against her throat hard enough to cause her Aura to repel the blade. "What was that?" He growled.

Blake's breathing became raged as she stared at her teammate. "I'm sorry." She said again. "I'm sorry that I don't have any way to convince you that I'm not with the White Fang anymore, I'm sorry that the White Fang managed to get away today at the port, and I'm sorry that I ran away!" She shouted as tears began to form in her eyes.

"So you have no way to prove to me that you aren't a spy?" Winston asked as he glared at Blake.

She shook her head.

"And due to your reckless actions today at the port, the White Fang managed to escape with Torchwick.?" Winston asked.

Blake nodded.

Winston scowled as he leaned closer to Blake. "Then I have one last thing to ask you..." He growled. "Why. Did. You. Run?" He ground out through clenched teeth.

The tears that had been forming were now trailing down Blake's cheeks as she stared back at Winston. "Would you have given me this chance to explain three days ago?" Blake asked.

...

...

...

There was a long and quiet pause that enveloped the room. Even Yang and Ruby stopped attempting to escape to hear the final answer. Winston scowled before he drew back with his blade.

"No." He stated as he thrust his blade forward.

Yang and Ruby turned away as they heard the sword impact. Ruby kept her eyes closed tightly, not wanting to see what Winston had done to Blake. Yang turned her head slowly and saw Destiny embedded in the wall directly to the left of Blake's head. Winston still had her pinned to the wall, the scowl remaining stuck on his face.

"This is the only chance I'm giving you." Winston said as he pulled his blade from the wall. "The next time you abandon this team, I will use every bit of power and influence that the Schnee Company has to hunt you down and kill you." With a snap of his fingers, the ice around Yang and Ruby shattered, allowing for the two girls to rush to Blake's side.

"Winston! That was a horrible thing to do! Look how scared she is!" Yang shouted as she pulled the now sobbing Blake into a hug.

Winston grunted and placed his blades by his bed. "I never claimed to be a nice person. I was merely telling her that I was giving her a chance. It only seemed fair to inform her of what would happen should she break my trust." He stated as he placed his coat on the back of his desk chair.

"But we just got her back!" Ruby shouted as she held onto Blake's arm. "And the first thing you do is threaten her?!"

Winston paused and glanced over his shoulder at Ruby. "Ruby... What is on Yang's back?" He asked calmly.

Ruby raised an eyebrow in confusion before looking at Yang. All she could see besides her hair were her wings. "Uhh... Wings?" She asked.

"Very good." Winston said as he turned around and faced Ruby. "What about you and Blake? What is on your heads?" He asked.

"Uhh... Cat ears?" She asked.

"Correct again. So... What does that make the three of you?" He asked as he spread out his arms.

Yang felt like she knew where this was going, so she answered for Ruby. "Faunus... It make's us Faunus." She stated as she patted Blake on the back.

"That's right." Winston said as he sat down on his bed. "And I told all of you one of my big reasons for hating your species right? About how the bull Faunus took my little sisters ability to speak." Yang nodded as she glared at Winston. "Good. The you should be able to understand how big of a deal it is that I'm even giving Blake this second chance, rather than just killing or jailing her." He finished as he twisted his body to crack his back.

"So are you saying you trust the Faunus now?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No." Winston stated coldly. "There is only one Faunus in this world that I would give my life for, and none of you are her." He said as he laid back on his bed. "This simply means that I trust the three of you not to betray me..." Winston turned and grabbed the handle of Destiny. "But if you ever should..." He growled.

Yang and Ruby nodded as they moved Blake to her bed. The tears in her eyes were slowly dissipating as she laid down in her bunk.

"Good. Now that we understand each other..." Winston said as he placed his head on his pillow. "I'm going to sleep." He stated.

Yang raised an eyebrow. "In your suit?" She asked with a slight grin.

Winston's eyes shot open as he glanced down and noticed that he was indeed still in his day attire. He grabbed his pajama bottoms and stalked off to the bathroom while Yang giggled at his mistake.

"I will be leaving for Atlas tomorrow morning!" Winston shouted from the bathroom. "Since we have the next two and a half weeks off I plan to hold my companies press conference this coming Saturday, so I shall not be around to join in any foolish adventures you may find yourselves in." He finished as he strolled out of the bathroom in his night attire.

Ruby crawled into her bunk and looked over to Winston with a frown. "Were you planning on telling us this before you left?" She asked.

"I just did." He stated as he crawled into his bed. "I was going to inform you a few days ago... But something came up." He said flatly as he glanced at Blake. "Never the less, I will be departing at noon. Good night." He finished as he blew out the candle on the dresser.

* * *

 **And thus we have the exciting conclusion to Volume 1! I was going to have this chapter up last Friday, but I got caught up at the Anime Convention I went to. If any of you were at AniMinneapolis 2016 this last weekend, you may have seen me. I was the only Ruby with a brown goatee. Kind of an odd feeling to wear a skirt for the first time...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **I feel like I made this strange. Oh well, got a badass Crescent Rose at the convention that is now hanging on the wall above me, so I think it was worth wearing a skirt.**

 **Not really sure what else I wanted to say down here, I know that school will be getting out for some of you here in the next month, which mean there will be a whole tidal wave of new Fan Fictions that will be arriving here soon, so cheers to that I guess.**

 **Leave me a review if you liked the story, and be sure to Vote on the genders for CFVY. As well as don't forget to vote on the outcome of the Maidens. Have a good Wednesday.**


	7. Geppetto's Kingdom

**And thus we begin the first chapter of the Filler Arc! (No pun intended) Man this week has been really hectic, celebrated my 20th birthday on the 14th, got a new and better job on the 15th, and caught a bad cold on the 16th! Man what a week! None the less, here are the results for the Polls as of late.**

 **Coco - Female: 6 - Male: 2**

 **Yatsuhashi - Female: 5 - Male: 1**

 **Fox - Female: 3 - Male: 7**

 **Just cast your votes in a review, as I can't seem to get the Poll's on my profile to work properly.**

 **Seems like some people do want to see Coco as a dude. Female is still winning out for the majority of the team though. Remember that I now have a second poll going on for Volume 3 that is based around the Maidens.**

 **My Idea to be revealed later: 1**

 **Female Maidens and Male Knights: 1**

 **[POLLS CLOSED]**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of it's affiliated characters.**

* * *

 **Beacon Landing Platform**

"Be careful with that you fool!" Winston shouted as he watched one of his workers drop the dust case he was carrying. "I was part of one explosion at this location, I would greatly appreciate if it never happened again!"

Ruby, Yang and, Blake watched as Winston ordered around a swarm of workers at the landing platform.

"Man... I would hate to work for him." Yang said as she crossed her arms.

"He seems to be under a great deal of stress." Blake said as she watched him shout at his workers to move faster.

"He's even more bossy than usual." Ruby said.

"I told you that this needed to be loaded by noon! It is now a quarter past and we still have yet to leave!" Winston shouted. "Why did you wait for me to arrive to begin loading!?" He demanded.

"He acts like being a little late could be the end of the world." Yang said. "The press conference isn't for another four days, and its only a twenty hour flight to atlas."

"The Schnee's have always valued punctuality." Blake said with a frown. "Everything a Schnee does must be perfect."

"Why is that?" Ruby asked as she turned to Blake.

"Because of the Schnee Patriarch."

"The what?" Yang and Ruby asked simultaneously.

"The Patriarch. The head of the Schnee family."

"Isn't that Winston?" Ruby asked as she tilted her head to the side.

Blake shook her head. "No. Winston is the head of the Schnee Dust Company, not the Schnee Patriarch. The Patriarch is the oldest and most respected Schnee male. If anything we've learned about Winston's father is true, we can assume that he is not the Patriarch."

"If not Winston or his father, then who?" Ruby asked.

"His grandfather." The three girls turned to see Jean walking up to them with Pyrrhus in tow.

"Hi Jean." Ruby said with a wave. "You said it was his grandfather?" She asked.

Jean nodded as she watched Winston direct a group of workers. "The Schnee's and the Arc's have been close since the end of the great war. I've met his family, and unless he passed away, the Patriarch should be Winston's grandfather."

"He never told us he had a grandfather." Ruby said as she looked to her team.

"He never told us that he had sister's until the other day. He's not exactly an open person." Blake said as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah..." Ruby said with a frown as she turned to look back at Jean. "So you've met his grandfather? What's he like?" She asked.

Jean frowned. "He's a very quiet man, very professional, but when Winston and I would play together as children, he was warm and kind." She said as she glanced up to Winston. "Winston always had the utmost respect for him, treated the man like he was something to be revered. Though, now that I think about it, I don't think he'd care for any of you." She finished as she looked back to Ruby.

Yang tilted her head to the side. "Why's that?" She asked.

"It's because half your team is Faunus." Jean said as she looked to each of the girls before her. "While Winston may be able to be in your presence, his family is less than happy with being in the vicinity of a Faunus."

Blake frowned. "I'm not even sure if Winston is happy to be around us." She said as she glanced over her shoulder to the boy.

"Alright! Everything is loaded boss!" One of the workers shouted.

"Excellent! Now then, everyone on board! We're leaving in five minutes!" Winston shouted as he grabbed his suitcase and walked towards the ramp.

"Bye Winston!" Ruby shouted as she waved to her partner.

Winston glanced over to her and raised a hand before entering the ship.

"Impressive. He actually waved to you." Yang said with a sarcastic tone.

Jean frowned as she watched Winston walk out of view. "I know he may seem mean, but he is actually a very nice person. I don't know what happened to cause him to act like this."

The group covered their ears as the engines on Winston's ship roared to life and began to lift it into the air.

"What's going on!? It hasn't been five minutes!" Ruby shouted as she watched the ship begin to leave the area.

Once the ship was a sufficient distance away, they uncovered their ears and watched as it's engines shifted back and propelled the ship forward.

"He was sure impatient." Blake said with a scowl as she watched his ship pass over the mountain. "Hope he didn't forget anyone."

"Winston never really was good with waiting." Jean said with a small smile.

Pyrrhus leaned down and whispered something into Jean's ear, causing her face to light up.

"Oh yeah!" She shouted as she looked down to Ruby. "I just got some amazing news from my parents!" she cheered as she grabbed Ruby by her hands.

"What's the news?" Yang asked with a grin as she saw Jean bouncing up and down.

"My older brother is getting married!" She squealed.

"Congratulations to him then." Yang said as she crossed her arms.

"That's not all." Pyrrhus said as he began to grin. "Tell em." He said as he nudged Jean's shoulder.

"It's this Saturday! My parent's have sent a ship from Atlas to pick me up, and they said I could bring my friends from school! I want all of you to come with!" She shouted as she stopped bouncing and looked into Ruby's eyes. "You will come with right?" She asked.

Ruby turned and looked at the expressions on her teams face. Winston's announcement that he wouldn't be spending break with his team had hurt Ruby slightly, as she hoped that they would be able to bond after the incident at the docks.

"It's kind of short notice." Blake said as she looked to the others present.

"Yeah... Ruby and I were gonna go back to patch to visit our dad." Yang said as she frowned.

"But... But... But..." Jean said as she looked at the others with a frown.

"Actually Yang, dad sent us a letter the other day. He's going on a mission for a couple of weeks." Ruby said as she turned to look at her sister.

"So you can make it?!" Jean asked as she pulled Ruby closer to her.

Ruby looked to Yang who shrugged. "If dad's gonna be gone for a few weeks, then I have no problems with a free trip to Atlas."

Ruby turned back to Jean with a nervous grin. "I guess that means that we can go."

Jean's eyes went wide as she pulled Ruby into a hug and squealed. "This is great! My parents ship will be here in a few hours, so we better go pack!" She said happily.

Jean continued to talk to Ruby and Yang as Pyrrhus turned to Blake. "What about you? Are you going to join us in Atlas?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Blake shrugged. "I guess. My plan had originally been to stay here and read for the whole break."

"Buuuuut!" Yang said as she placed an arm around Blake's shoulder. "Now your going to come with us to a wedding!" She finished with a grin.

Blake sighed. "What she said."

"Great!" Pyrrhus said as he threw Akouo to the ground and stepped onto it. Jean rushed over and placed Crocea Mors on the ground before stepping onto it.

Ruby tilted her head to the side. "What are you guys doing?" She asked.

Jean turned back to Ruby with a grin. "Pyrrhus learned a new trick with his semblance." She said.

They all turned to Pyrrhus and saw him with his eyes closed. After a few moments of silence, His eyes shot open with a hazy black mist over them. The same mist covered the two shields as they began to lift into the air. Once he and Jean were a few feet off the ground, Pyrrhus moved his hand forwards, causing them to begin to fly towards the dorms.

Jean glanced back at them with a grin. "See you here in a few hours!" She shouted as they flew over the building.

Blake and Ruby's mouths were hanging open as they watched the two vanish from their line of sight.

"..." Blake said as she pointed up at where they had flown.

"T-they just flew..." Ruby said as she stared at the top of the building.

Yang crossed her arms and scowled as her wings stretched out. "Not that impressive." She muttered as she turned and flew off towards the CCT tower.

* * *

 **6 Hours Later**

* * *

Team JNPR and RWBY, minus Winston, were standing at the Beacon landing platform staring up at the massive Atlas ship in awe.

"That's your parents ship!?" Yang shouted as she dropped her bags in shock.

Jean nodded with a smile. "Yep!" She chirped happily. "My parents wanted to make sure that I got home safe, so they sent the Nautilus!"

Blake turned to look at Jean in shock. "Did you just call that thing 'The Nautilus'?!" She demanded.

"Yep!" Jean said as she and her team began to gather their bags.

"How did your parent's manage to get the flagship of the Atlesian Military to fly here to collect you!?" She shouted as she hurried after her.

Jean frowned and turned away from Blake. "My father has a-lot of power over Atlas. He and the General are close friends, so I wouldn't be surprised if he offered to do it as a favor." Jean said as she tried to avoid Blake's questioning gaze.

"So who's your father?" Ruby asked as she followed behind her.

"He-"

"Ms. Arc!"

The group turned behind them to see Glynda Goodwitch and Professor Thorne walking towards them. Professor Thorne was carrying two large trunks over his shoulder and seemed to pay the group no mind as he continued towards them.

Upon reaching the group, Glynda stopped before Jean as Professor Thorne walked past them and crouched as he walked into the ship.

"I wish you would have informed us that Lily's ship had arrived." Glynda said as she crossed her arms.

Jean tilted her head to the side. "Lily? You know my mother?" Jean asked with a confused expression.

Glynda nodded. "I was on her team many years ago when we went to Atlas Academy together." She said. "She called me to inform me that your brother was getting married, and it happened to coincide with a trip I was planning back to Atlas." She finished as she walked past them.

"A trip?" Jean asked as she tuned and followed Glynda, almost tripping over her suitcase. "Your coming with us?" She questioned.

Glynda nodded again. "Yes. I am your brothers godmother. It would be rude of me not to fly out to congratulate him." She stopped and turned to show Jean her scroll. "I have an invitation to go to the wedding and my son and I have a room in the West wing."

"The West wing?" Jean asked as she looked up from Glynda's scroll. "Your staying at my home?" She asked.

"Yes." She stated as she turned and continued up the ramp.

"Wait!" Ruby called. Glynda stopped and glanced over to the small girl in red. "Why is professor Throne coming with us?" She asked.

Glynda raised an eyebrow. "As I said, my son and I are attending the wedding." She said as she continued into the ship.

The group stood on the ramp to the ship for a moment before a wave of realization hit them.

"Glynda is professor Thorne's mom!?" Ruby shouted as she turned to Yang.

"I didn't know!" Yang shouted back as she looked at her sister.

"How did she even give birth to him?" Nora asked as she looked up in thought.

"He can't be that big." Pyrrhus said as he crossed his arms. "He's probably normal sized when he's out of that massive armor."

"But what if he is?" Jean asked.

"That would certainly hurt." Blake said as she looked to the spots where professor Thorne had stepped onto the ramp, each mark easily noticeable by the small dents caused by the weight of his armor.

"I imagine that he was much smaller when he was born." Ren stated calmly as he ushered Nora and Jean towards the ship.

After JNPR had boarded the ship, Yang turned to Blake with a grin. "This weeks been just full of surprises, huh?" She said as she wrapped her arms around her team and forced them forward.

* * *

 **Aboard The Nautilus**

"Wow Jean, your parents must be loaded." Yang said as she and the others reached the room that they were staying in. "I mean, it took us like five minutes of straight walking to reach our room! Even Winston's family didn't send a ship this big!" She finished as she flopped down on the nearby sofa.

Jean smiled as she sat down in a nearby chair. "I will admit, my mom and dad may have gone a bit overboard in sending the Nautilus, but they aren't usually this showy." Jean said as she waved off the comment.

"A bit overboard?" Blake asked as she looked to Jean. "They sent the Flagship of the Atlesian army! How could they have gone anymore overboard?!" She asked with a sarcastic tone.

"You keep saying 'Flagship', what does that mean?" Ruby asked as she sat down beside her sister.

Blake sat at the table in the center of the room and turned to her team. "A Flagship is the biggest or strongest ship owned by a military. In the case of the Nautilus however, it is one of the four legendary ships from before the Great War." She said as she watched Ruby's face for any sign of understanding.

"So... It's just a really old ship?" Nora asked as she and Ren sat down across from Blake.

Blake shook her head. "No, does the title 'legendary ship' sound like something normal?" She asked as she turned to Nora. "The Great War may have ended eighty years ago, it started a hundred and twenty years ago." Blake started as she pulled out a book from her bag.

"When the war started over a century ago there were four kingdoms. Vacuo, Minstral, Vale, and Mantle. With the support of it's massive military, and it's advanced technology, Mantle declared a war that would wipe out all forms of expressions from the world, hoping that with the lack of emotion, the Grimm would be unable to attack us."

Jean frowned as she listened to Blake's story. She had hoped to stop being taught history after professor Oobleck left for his expedition. "At the start, Vale and Minstral ignored Mantle, allowing it to take Vacuo with little effort. However, after noticing that Mantle would not stop there, they joined together to fight the oncoming threat." She continued as she flipped to another page in her book.

"The war continued on for thirty years, with Mantle losing ground to the allied kingdoms slowly over each year. By the thirtieth anniversary of the war, Mantle had been pushed back to it's own borders and Vacuo had been liberated. The allied kingdoms rejoiced, as they thought that the end of the war was close..." Blake said as she turned the page again.

"Just when the three kingdoms were celebrating, Mantle launched a surprise assault on Vale, nearly leveling the kingdoms capital. While information was scarce, one thing was repeated consistently through each report. _Giant ship attacking! Send reinforcements!_ " Blake said as she repeated read the reports aloud. "Mantle had captured the greatest mind on all of Remnant, and had forced him to design a ship for them to fight with."

Blake flipped the page again and revealed a photo of four large ships, each barring a similar design, save the colors and placement of the weapons. "Mantle had forced the legendary shipwright Geppetto to build them a warship that could win the war for them. For Mantle, Geppetto created the Nautilus." Blake pointed to an image of the ship they were in presently.

"The Nautilus may have been refurbished since the day's of the war." Blake said as she glanced around the room at the accommodating living space, rather than that of soldiers living quarters. "When it was created, it was near unstoppable. The Nautilus turned the tide of the war drastically, cities would fall in a matter of days, natural barriers such as storms and mountains meant nothing to the great warship."

"In seven years, all the progress that the allied kingdoms had made was reversed. Mantle had retaken Vacuo and were advancing through Vale to Minstral, ready to take the final kingdom." Blake said as she flipped to the next chapter.

"What happened then?" Ruby asked as she listened closely to Blake.

"No one's really sure. Out of nowhere the Nautilus was shot down. Mantle's forces were in disarray as they watched the invincible ship crash to the ground. It was then that Vale and Minstral made their move. From over the mountains came two equally massive ships, followed by a combined army of Vale and Minstral warships. Vale's Flagship 'The Leviathan', and Minstral's Flagship 'The Ark' had been built after the allied kingdoms had acquired the plans to the Nautilus, and managed to down the great warship in seconds." Blake finished as she flipped to the next chapter.

"As the Leviathan pushed forward into Mantle, the Ark pushed across Vale into Vacuo and retook the third kingdom. With Vacuo's prototype Flagship, the Argo online, the alliance pushed into Mantle, set in their plan to take down the kingdom and end the long war." Blake said as she flipped to the next page. "When the alliance reached the capital of Mantle, they found the leaders of the kingdom had been overthrown, and were presented to the alliance as an offering of peace."

"Who overthrew them?" Yang asked as she sat up from where she was laying.

"Geppetto." Jean said from the other side of the room. "The same man who smuggled the plans for his ship out of Mantle and allowed the other three kingdoms to build their own Flagship. He was originally from Vacuo, and had been opposed to what was being done by Mantle's government. After he gained a substantial following, he lead a rebellion that in just one week took Mantle's leaders from their positions of power." She finished as she looked back to Blake. "Go on, tell them the rest." She said as she encouraged Blake to continue.

Blake raised an eyebrow as she glanced over to Jean. "Yes... As Jean said, Geppetto had lead a rebellion that freed Mantle from the control of it's warring government. Once the other three kingdoms reached Mantle they demanded that the kingdom surrender all of it's land and citizens to be split amongst the three victorious kingdoms." Blake said as she turned back to Ruby.

"But, there are four kingdoms right now. How did Atlas appear?" She asked.

"Well, it was still another three years until the war officially ended. Most of Mantle's forces were robots similar to those that are used by Atlas today and were programmed to attack anyone that wasn't a civilian of Mantle or one of it's annexed territories. When the leaders of Mantle refused to deactivate them, it took another three years to find and destroy all of the robots and bases that they had hidden." Blake said as she turned to the final page.

"During those three years, Geppetto discussed a peace treaty with the leaders of the other three kingdoms. They were defiant at first, but after realizing that they had only been successful in the war due to Geppetto's assistance, they agreed to his terms." Blake turned to book around and handed it to Ruby, who began to immediately look through the pictures on the page. "Three years later, on Vytal, Geppetto and the leaders signed a treaty of peace, and with Geppetto becoming the new king of Mantle. His first action, was to Change the name of the Kingdom from Mantle to Atlas, in order to distance his kingdom from the horrors it had spawned from." Blake finished as she pointed to the photo of Geppetto and the other leaders signing the Vytal treaty.

"And that was the end of the Great War." She stated as she moved back to her chair.

"Wow..." Ruby said as she looked over the pictures.

Blake frowned. "If you'd pay attention in Oobleck's class, maybe you'd know this already." She scolded.

Ruby's eye scanned over the picture until her eyes landed on something at Geppetto's side. She narrowed her eyes and closely examined it before turning to Jean.

"Hey Jean?" She called.

Jean turned to Ruby with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah?" She asked.

"Could you hold up Crocea Mors?" She asked.

Jean glanced to Pyrrhus for a moment before standing and presenting her shield to Ruby.

Ruby examined the shield before she looked down at the picture again. "Where did you say you got it?" Ruby asked as she looked up to Jean.

"My great-great grandfather used it in the Great War." Jean said as she placed it back on her hip. "Why?"

Ruby took the book and turned the page to face Jean and Blake. "Then why is Geppetto using Crocea Mors?" She asked.

"It is because Lady Jean is the descendant of King Geppetto." A man said as he strode into the room with two men in chef uniforms behind him. He turned to Jean with a smile and bowed to her. "My lady it is good to see you again. I do hope you'll pardon the intrusion, but the chef's wanted to take your orders for dinner tonight before it got too much later."

Jean turned to the man with a large smile. "It is good to see you again Alfred. I trust that my sister's haven't given you too much trouble?" Jean asked as she looked to the man.

He was a large man, standing about six and a half feet in height, with a full butlers uniform, including a black tailcoat and bow tie. He had short grey hair that was receding slightly as he aged, to the point that it was about a centimeter above his forehead. He had black dress shoes and a bushy grey mustache similar to that of professor Port. He stood at attention with his feet together and a cheerful look on his face.

Alfred pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket and whipped a small amount of sweat from his forehead. "Your sisters act just as you did when you were young." He said with a sigh. "All of you get into so much mischief around the kingdom that I have a hard time cleaning it up. Why couldn't you all have been more like your older brother?" He wept as he closed his eyes.

Jean chuckled as she walked over and gave the tall man a hug. "It is good to see that your still healthy." She said as she looked up at his face. Jean turned to look at her friends with a big smile. "Well guys, this is Alfred. He's been the head butler for my family since before my brother was even born." She said as she moved to the side to let them see Alfred.

...

...

...

 **"YOUR THE PRINCESS!?"** They all shouted in shock over the news they had just heard.

Jean jumped back as their sudden outburst startled her. "I-I didn't tell you?!" She asked as she moved behind Alfred.

They all shook their heads as their mouths were all hanging open.

Blake and Yang shared a look as the realization crossed their faces. "My father has a-lot of power in Atlas..." Yang repeated Jean as she looked to Blake.

"My father is good friend's with the General..." Blake responded as she turned to jean. "You've been dropping hint's to your family's heritage the whole time, we just never figured it out." She said as she looked to her in surprise.

"In my defense!" Jean started as she poked her head out from behind Alfred. "I thought I had told all of you already!"

"How do you gloss over something like, 'oh by the way, I'm the princes of Atlas' ?!" Yang asked as she stood up from her seat on the couch.

"Did Winston know?" Ruby asked as she looked to Jean.

Jean nodded. "Winston and I have played together since we were babies. Alfred's little brother is the head butler to the Schnee family." Jean said as she turned to look at her butler.

"Sebastian?" Blake asked as she stood from the table.

Jean and Alfred looked to her with surprise. "Why yes! How did you know?" Alfred asked as he looked to Blake.

Blake glanced down to the book in her hand before responding. "I heard Winston talking to him over the phone."

Alfred smiled as he turned to look around the rest of the room. "It is good to hear that Master Winston still speaks with Sebastian. Now then, the chefs will now take your orders." Alfred said as he backed away and allowed the chefs to roam the room with their menu's.

"Oh! Yang, look at the desserts! A triple chocolate chip cookie in an hot fudge sundae, topped with whipped cream!" Ruby said as she was practically drooling over the picture of the sweets.

Yang ignored her sister's behavior and pointed to what she saw and liked. "Forget the sweets, look at that steak! 14 oz Porterhouse topped with grilled onions, with a side of baked potatoes and corn on the cob!"

"PANCAKES!" Nora shouted from across the room. "Ren they have Pancakes! Look!" She stated as she forced his head down into the menu.

"Nora... That's the breakfast menu." Ren said as he lifted his head off of the sheet.

"If Nora want's pancakes then I'm sure the chef's will make them, right?" Jean asked as she turned to look at Alfred.

"Of course they will my lady! Men! Some hotcakes for Ms. Valkyrie!" Alfred said as he clapped his hands together. The chefs went around the room collecting the menu's and taking the orders before following Alfred out the door.

Before he shut the door, Alfred turned to look at Jean. "Should you need anything else my lady, you need merely to call." He said as he bowed one final time and shut the door.

The group shared an awkward silence as they each looked to one an another, then to jean. Finally, Yang turned to Blake with a half grin and spoke.

"Well would you look at that, another big surprise. I doubt they have much less that can catch us off guard!" Yang stated confidently as she claimed a spot at the table for when her steak arrived.

* * *

 **The Next Day**

* * *

 **Arc Castle Landing Platform**

The Nautilus touched down outside a massive stone castle that had been carved out of a mountain at the edge of the city of Atlas. The castle itself dwarfed the mountain as the towers rose well above it's peak, and the wall surrounding it stretched around the entire city. In the distance were some large buildings, likely workshops and factories just outside the walls.

To the left of the castle was a smaller building at the foot of the mountain, with an easily recognizable symbol on it's flag.

"Look! it's Winston's house!" Ruby shouted as she pointed through the window. Each of the people in the room turned to look down at the Schnee Castle.

It was certainly large, there was no denying that fact, and although it was significantly smaller than Jean's castle, it still was about half as large as Beacon.

 _*Knock Knock Knock*_

The group turned to see the door to their room slide open revealing Alfred standing there with several carts.

"I shall have the staff take the Lady's friends bags to their rooms." He said as he bowed to Jean. "The Queen called ahead and wishes for me to inform you that your brother and hie fiance will be waiting at the landing platform when we arrive."

Jean's face lit up as she turned to Pyrrhus and her team. "Oh I can't wait for you guys too meet my brother! He was the top of his class at Atlas Academy when he graduated!" She said as she grabbed Pyrrhus and started to drag him towards the door.

Pyrrhus looked back to the group and waved for them to follow before Jean pulled him out of sight.

Yang looked to her sister with a grin. "Well she sounds excited!"

Ruby nodded her head in agreement. "We finally get to meet Jean's family! And we can surprise Winston at his house once the wedding is over!" She said happily as she and Nora followed Jean and Pyrrhus off the ship.

Ren sighed and followed his partner, leaving Blake and Yang alone in the ship. Yang turned to Blake with a raised eyebrow.

"You gonna be okay?" She asked. "I know that the Fang isn't exactly fond of Atlas or it's leaders."

Blake shook her head. "I'll be fine. I've known Jean for a few weeks now, I don't believe she could hurt someone if she wanted to."

Yang patted Blake on the back with a laugh before pushing her forward. "That's the spirit! Now come on, I want to see if Jean's brother is anything to look at."

* * *

 **These filler chapters might be shorter than some of my other chapters, simply because I want to spread them out and keep you all entertained. I will introduce Jean's brother and Winston's sister's in the next chapter, as well as explain a bit more in detail as to how Glynda is professor Thorne's mother.**

 **To those of you who saw his Bio on my profile and thought they knew about him in this story, I have updated it to throw you all off.**

 **The Professor Thorne from 'Everything Has Changed', and the Leo Throne from 'Five months later' are two completely different people, linked only by a name.**

 **As always, leave me a review if you enjoyed this chapter, and tell me what you thought about the first filler chapter. Remember to cast your votes for CFVY and for the Maidens.**


	8. Siblings Can Be Fun

**So, based on the feedback I got on the first filler chapter, you guys seem to like the way I told the Great War. I'm glad that I was able to make it worth reading.**

 **Coco - Female: 7 - Male: 2**

 **Yatsuhashi - Female: 5 - Male: 1**

 **Fox - Female: 3 - Male: 8**

 **Just cast your votes in a review, as I can't seem to get the Poll's on my profile to work properly.**

 **My Idea to be revealed later: 2**

 **Female Maidens and Male Knights: 1**

 **[POLLS CLOSED]**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of it's affiliated characters.**

* * *

 **SDC CEO Office**

Winston sat calmly at his desk signing documents as an older boy sat laughing in the chair on the other side.

"So then, Cedric threw the bone over the fence, and the stupid dog actually managed to jump it! Can you believe that Winston? Wallace's fence is nearly twenty feet high! When the slavers caught it before I would have scarcely believed that it could manage something like that." The man across from Winston said as he leaned forward and grabbed the glass of water on the desk.

"Mhmm..." Winston mumbled as he moved one of the papers to the other side of his desk and grabbed a new one.

The man frowned as he looked at Winston. "Winston? Are you okay?"

"Hmm?" Winston asked as he looked up. "Oh, I apologize for my lack of attention Silas, In my fathers absence the fools that I allowed to run my company seem to have neglected to do any actual work." Winston finished as he motioned towards the large stack of documents that required his signature.

Silas smiled and chuckled. "I understand completely." He said as he stood from his chair. "When my father passed his company onto me he left me a great deal of work, and the men he had left me were as useless as the Faunus that worked our fields." He finished as he chugged the glass in his hand.

Winston nodded as he moved onto a new document. "Yes, well I hardly think that becoming the head of the third largest spice company in Atlas equates becoming the head of the largest Dust supplier on Remnant."

Silas rolled his eyes as he sat back down in his chair. "You just need to relax." He said as Winston glanced up at him. "Come with me and Cedric to the auction later this week! It will do you some good to spend some of your money." He said with a smile.

Winston raised an eyebrow with an amused smirk. "Do me some good to spend my money, eh?" He said as he set down his pen and looked out the window behind him, only to see the Nautilus flying up towards Arc castle. He stood and walked towards the window.

He gazed out across the massive expanse of land that his family owned, then towards the mountain that the Arc's had built their castle from. He turned to Silas with a smile. "Very well old friend, I shall accompany you and Cedric to the auction. Don't expect me to buy anything though. I have enough trouble with the press without them thinking I own slaves." He said as he walked past his desk, grabbing his coat as he went. "Until then, I have been invited to the Prince's wedding. I should go and congratulate him."

* * *

 **Arc Castle Landing Platform**

"Where are they?" Jean asked aloud as she scanned the crowd for her brother and his fiance.

"It would help if we knew what he looked like." Ren said as he looked out across the crowd.

"Yeah, does he look like you?" Nora asked as she climbed onto Ren's shoulders and scanned the crowd.

"Or does he have a more ruggedly handsome look?" Yang asked as she walked out of the ship.

Jean furrowed her brow as she thought back to the last time she had seen her brother. "He looks kind of like me I guess?" She said.

"Give him more credit than that. He looks much more like your father." A voice behind her said.

"I don't know... I always thought he looked like mom." Jean said as she continued to scan the crowd.

"Are you implying that the queen has a beard? Your crazy!" The voice said again.

This time the group, minus Jean, turned to find the source of the voice. Standing behind the group was a tall blonde man with light stubble on his chin. He wore a pair of baggy blue jeans and a black hoodie, and wore armor over his chest and shoulders. On his back he wore a large greatsword and had a sizable revolver on his right thigh. He had a large grin on his face and placed a finger over his mouth.

Jean scowled. "No, your crazy! He even had moms hair last time I saw him!" She shouted as she turned towards the voice.

The blonde man grinned as he looked down at Jean. "Well, maybe I got a hair cut since I got engaged." He said as he opened his arms. "Hey little sis."

Jean's eyes went wide as she jumped at her brother. "Jaune!" She shouted as she jumped into his arms.

Pyrrhus watched with an amused smirk as Jean attempted to squeeze the life out of her brother. "I take it this is your older brother then?" He asked as he started to chuckle.

"Who me? Related to this hag? Never!" Jaune said as she shoved Jean away comically and turned his nose up. "I've never seen her before in my life."

"Then who are you?!" Nora demanded as she lifted her hammer over her head.

Jean watched with an embarrassed smile as Ren took Magnhild from Nora before turning to Pyrrhus.

"This is my older brother, Jaune Arc." Jean said she turned to her brother. "Jaune, this is Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, and Pyrrhus Nikos. They're my team at Beacon."

Jaune walked past Jean and stopped in front of Pyrrhus. He gave an amused smile as he looked down at the boy. "Pyrrhus Nikos huh? I've seen your battles in Minstral. You're quite the fighter. Glad my little sis has a leader like you to keep her in line." He finished as he clapped Pyrrhus on the shoulder.

Pyrrhus smiled and bowed his head to Jaune. "I appreciate the praise sire, but I am not the leader." He said as he rose to face Jaune.

Jaune's eyebrow rose as he looked to Ren and Nora. "Then it is you?" He asked as he pointed to Ren.

Ren shook his head, causing Jaune to point at Nora. "Nope!" She said with a grin.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence bro." Jean said as she rubbed her arm with a hurt look.

Jaune whipped around to face his sister with a look of shock on his face. "YOU!?" He shouted as he pointed at her.

Jean nodded. "Yeah, I'm the leader of team JNPR. Surprise..." She said as she looked down at her feet.

After a moment of staring down at his sister in shock, a large smile spread across Jaune's face as he rushed forward and pulled Jean into the air. Jean let out a startled squeak as she was crushed by her brother in a big hug.

"This is outstanding news!" Jaune shouted as he squeezed Jean tighter. "You are now the fourth Arc in a row to lead their team while in training! Do you understand the significance of this!?" He asked as he looked into Jean's eyes with a wild smile.

Jean smiled nervously as she looked back at her overzealous brother. "Um... No?" She said.

"No family of hunters have ever achieved this! I lead JDWL when I was in Atlas, and Magenta lead her team five years later! Now you lead JNPR at Beacon." Jaune smiled as he placed his sister back on the ground and smiled down at her proudly. "Now we just need your twin to lead her team next year and we'll have five hunters in a row."

"Um..." Ruby said as she popped out from behind Jean. "You only listed three leaders."

Jaune raised an eyebrow as he thought back over his statement and frowned. "You are correct. My mistake, I forgot to mention our father, King Noir, was the leader of his team when he was in school." Jaune leaned down to look Ruby in the eye. "Now then, I don't believe we've been introduced. I am Jaune Arc, Crown Prince of Atlas, with whom do I hold the pleasure of speaking?" He asked with a grin.

Ruby giggled at Jaune's attempt to be suave and stood up straight. "I am Ruby Rose, leader of team RWBY. This..." She said as she pointed to Yang and Blake. "Is Yang Xiao-Long, my older sister, and Blake Belladonna, her partner."

Jaune shook Yang and Blake's hands with a smile. "Pleased to meet you both. I'm glad that my sister was able to make so many friends at Beacon." Jaune paused and looked around before turning to Ruby. "You seem to be short one teammate."

Ruby waved off the comment and pointed down at Schnee Manor. "My partner is Winston Schnee, he came here ahead of us on business."

Jaune looked at Ruby's ears and Yang's wings before laughing loudly. "Poetic justice at it's finest!" He stated as he patted Ruby on the head. "Only someone with a distaste for Faunus as great as Winston could manage to end up on a team with two."

Jean opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a series of loud thuds, and the ship beginning to shake. The group turned to the door leading into the ship, only to see professor Thorne round the corner at top speed.

"JAUNE!" He shouted with an excited tone.

Jaune grinned and got into a low stance with his right hand on the handle of his sword.

"LEO!" He shouted back with a similar tone.

Professor Thorne roared as he picked up speed down the ramp and tackled Jaune over the side and into the crowd.

"Jaune!" Jean shouted in distress as she and the others ran to the side of the ramp, only reaching it in time to watch Jaune to flip the two around in midair and land on Thorne's chest feet first, the cement buckling beneath the massive suit of armor as they collided.

"What the heck was that!?" Yang yelled as she reached the edge and began watch Jaune haul the professor out of the cement. "Why did he just attack him like that!?"

Before anyone could answer, professor Thorne was seen being thrown across the crowd, with Jaune in the air behind him, a mad grin adorning his face.

"Whoa... Your brother's strong Jean!" Ruby said. "Professor Thorne's armor must weigh at least a ton, but Jaune threw him and the armor so far!"

Jean nodded as she watched Jaune and Thorne land, causing the crowd below to scatter in a panic. "I didn't know it was his Semblance until after I met Pyrrhus." Jean said as she turned to her partner. "But Jaune works kind of like Yang. Where she gets stronger with each hit, he gets stronger the longer he is fighting."

Blake watched Thorne grab Jaune by the leg and slam him into the ground several times before throwing him against a wall. "But the fight hasn't been going on for that long... How come he was able to throw that giant around with such ease?" She wondered aloud.

Jean shook her head as she turned to Blake. "No, his big advantage is that he always keeps a small fraction of the power he gained during that fight. Somewhere around a tenth of it each time I think. If you account for the fact that he's been a professional hunter for near a decade, and factor in all of his training before that..."

Pyrrhus, Ren and Yang turned to Jean in shock. "With that kind of power he'd be nearly unstoppable!"

"Exactly." Jean said as she watched Jaune grab Thorne by the leg and begin to spin the twelve foot man around like a rag doll. "There was a word that the General used for it the last time I saw him... What was it again? Um... Oh! Ludicrous, he said that Jaune's power was ludicrous."

"Ludicrous?" Blake deadpanned as she watched the fight below. Jaune's smile aside, both men seemed to be trying to kill the other, but neither was gaining any ground in the endeavor.

"That seems to be an accurate description for what your brother is capable of." Glynda said as she walked out of the ship with a set of suitcases floating behind her.

"Miss Goodwitch!" Jean shouted as she ran over to her. "Professor Thorne just attacked my brother out of the blue!"

There was an explosion off to the right of the ship as Ruby watched Jaune kick Thorne through a truck. Glynda frowned as she adjusted her glasses. "Yes, I expected this." She stated as she walked to the edge to watch Jaune and her son fight.

"You expected this?" Yang asked as she turned to the teacher.

Glynda nodded. "Jaune and Leo have always acted this way when they got together. This is why I'm glad they only see each other every few years." She said with her usual frown.

"FIRE!" The group turned to see a blue burst of light fly across the area and slam into professor Thorne's back. After a few seconds the object began to spark before bursting into a full electrical shock.

Professor Thorne didn't seem to notice the shock as he grabbed Jaune by the torso and threw him into the closest wall. The prince slammed into the bricks with a loud crash, his smile never leaving his face. He pried himself off of the wall and pulled his greatsword from his back.

"FIRE AGAIN!" Several more charges were fired at Thorne, attaching to his chest, legs and head before they to began to shock him.

Throne continued to ignore them as Jaune slammed him into the ground with the flat side of his sword.

"Ooh! He's just like me!" Nora cheered as she watched Thorne shrug off the lightning like it was nothing.

"A good guess Miss Valkyrie, but I'm afraid that is incorrect." Glynda stated as she watched the battle continue. She watched the two match blows before sighing. "I suppose I had better break them apart before they level the entire port."

JNPR and RBY watched as Glynda created a ramp from the debris with a quick flick of her crop. Glynda pushed her glasses farther up her nose and started to carefully walk down the path, her bags still floating behind her. Once at the bottom she strode towards the two before quickly swinging her crop to the side, causing Jaune and Thorne to split apart.

"What!?" Thorne shouted as he crashed into a wall. He tried to struggle against the force of the hold before noticing a blue light zip past his visor. looked down at his body before speaking again. "When the hell did these get on me?" He wondered aloud.

"Oh come on Glynda, I had him this time!" Jaune cried as he struggled against Glynda's Semblance.

Glynda rolled her eyes at the two boys before turning to Jaune. "You two have been fighting for ten years. Neither of you have ever actually beaten the other in direct combat." She stated. "Now, is that any way to greet your Godmother?" She finished as she raised her eyebrow with a VERY small smile.

Jaune clicked his tongue and looked down to the ground. "No..." He stated while pouting.

Glynda laughed slightly as she released Jaune and pulled him into a hug. "Oh, it's good to see you again Jaune."

"You too auntie." Jaune mumbled as he returned the hug.

"SURROUND HIM!"

Glynda and Jaune turned to see dozens of Atlesian soldiers surrounding Thorne with their guns trained on his head and upper torso.

"You are under arrest for the assault of the Crown Prince!" One of the men shouted as he moved to grab Thorne's arm.

"I'm serious, when the hell did these things get on me?" Thorne asked again as he slammed his head into the wall, knocking the charge that was on his helmet off and completely ignoring the soldier.

"HEY!" The soldier shouted as Thorne ignored him.

Thorne looked down at the soldier and tilted his head to the side. "What?" He asked.

"You are under arrest!" He shouted again as he aimed his rifle at Thorne's head.

Thorne looked down at the man before turning to Jaune and his mother. "You want to field this one?" He asked.

"Sure you don't want to? I'm sure that a few days in the palace dungeon would do you some good in remembering who's the stronger one here." Jaune said with a sarcastic smile.

"Arc..." Thorne growled as he glared over the small army that was forming around his body.

Jaune laughed as he walked up to the soldiers. "You can relax Captain, he's pardoned." Jaune said as he continued past him.

The Captain faltered as he lowed his rifle and looked at Jaune in shock. "B-but sire! He attacked you! He deserves-"

"Trust me Captain." Jaune said as he cut the man off. "You wouldn't have a snowballs chance in hell if you tried to take him in." Jaune finished as he strode up to Thorne, who was still stuck to the wall from Glynda's Semblance.

Thorne looked up to Glynda and shouted. "You can let me down now mom!"

Glynda narrowed her eyes. "Do you promise to behave yourself?" She asked.

Thorne nodded.

"Promise not to throw Jaune into anymore trucks?" She called.

"He actually threw me into the truck, and it was actually a kick, but yeah sure, I promise not to attack Jaune again." Thorne said.

Glynda nodded and released her hold on Thorne, causing him to fall a few feet to the ground with a loud thud. The area around Thorne shook violently for a few seconds after his armor hit the ground.

Thorne rose to his full height and tilted his head down to look at Jaune. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Jaune spoke.

"Good to see you again Leo."

Thorne nodded. "It is good to see you as well Jaune. I hear that you are marrying your old partner from school." Thorne said as he brushed the rest of the shock charges off of his armor.

Jaune nodded with a smile. "That I am. It took me far too long to propose to her."

Thorne grunted as he turned to look up at the castle. "I suppose we three should pay a visit to Diamond's grave before the wedding. She would have been very happy for the two of you."

Jaune frowned as he turned to look towards the castle. "We all miss her Leo. She was crushed when she found out that Diamond had died out there." Jaune placed a hand on Thorne's arm. "I'm sure she'd be happy to see how we all turned out."

Thorne looked down at the ground for a moment before turning to face Jaune. "So, where is your fiancee?" He asked.

Jaune smiled and pointed to the upper part of the port, which remain untouched by their brief battle. "She awaits us at the gates to the castle. No doubt she knows of your arrival after our welcoming ceremony." Jaune said as he and Thorne started walking towards the nearby stairs, Glynda close behind.

JNPR and RBY watched in shock as the battle ended as quickly as it had started, then watched as Jaune and professor Thorne spoke briefly and began to walk towards the castle like old friends.

Jean was the first to snap out of her daze and noticed that they were being left behind. "H-hey!" She shouted as she grabbed her bags. "Wait up!" Jean began to race after her brother, the rest of her team and RBY following her lead.

* * *

 **Arc Castle Gates**

 _'Big brother... The people here keep giving me weird looks...'_ A voice said as a little girl in a blue hood huddled closer to Winston.

Winston narrowed his eyes and glared around the area. "Don't worry, if any of them say or do anything to you, I'll tear them limb from limb." Winston stated as he placed a hand on his little sisters head.

Winter smiled as she looked over at her siblings. "I'm surprised you came back to Atlas this week Winston. I expected you to want to stay as far from this place as possible." she said as she turned to look ahead at the Nautilus.

"You're surprised?" Winston asked as he looked to Winter. "I return to Atlas, only to hear from Sebastian that you are engaged to Jaune Arc, and than hear from mother that my baby sister has a Semblance that is unique from the Schnee line. I'd say that I am the one who should be surprised here." Winston stated as he looked to the side as an explosion rocked the lower part of the port.

 _'I'm not a baby!'_ The voice insisted as Winston's little sister looked up at him from under her hood.

"Yeah you are ya little brat!" Winston said as he lifted her into the air and placed her on his shoulders.

His sister smiled as she adjusted her cloak and covered Winston's eyes.

"OI! I can't see ya little monster!" Winston stated dramatically as he faked being blind and began to wobble around.

Winter giggled as she watched Winston entertain their little sister before speaking. "Shouldn't the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company be a little more professional? What would the press say if they saw you like this? " She asked between giggles.

Winston waved her off while he moved one of his sisters hands. "Ah screw em." He stated as he turned to look at Winter. "I'm not the CEO right now. Right now, I'm a big brother, who is playing with his baby sis-GAH!" Winston shouted as his sister wrapped her cloak around his head with an annoyed look on her face.

 _'I said I'm not a baby!'_ The voice stated again.

"I give! I give!" Winston shouted dramatically as he tried to get the cloak off his face.

Winter continued to giggle at her siblings antics as she turned to the port. She could see a crowd of people watching what she could only assume was the rest of her old team fighting, as per their old welcoming ritual. "I imagine that my fiance will be returning shortly." She stated as she heard the fighting die down.

"How can you tell?" Winston asked as he managed to pry his sisters cloak from his face.

"Because the explosions have stopped." She stated flatly as she pointed to where a group of soldiers were walking up from the lower levels.

After a few more minutes, Jaune, Thorne and Glynda could be seen approaching the gates. Winter welcomed the three with a wave, while Winston greeted them with a nod, and their little sister stared at Thorne's armor with a look of pure terror.

"Ah, I see that your family has arrived!" Jaune stated with a smile. "Welcome to Arc castle."

Winston gave Jaune a flat glare as he approached. "You speak as though I've never been to the castle." He said as Jaune came to a stop in front of Winter. Winston turned to greet Glynda and Thorne as they arrived. "Hello professor's. I was not aware that the staff of Beacon would be in Atlas over break."

Glynda looked over to Winston and adjusted her glasses. "The staff is not in Atlas for the break. My son and I have come for the wedding." Glynda said as she glanced over to Thorne.

"Your her son?" Winston stated as he looked up at Thorne. Thorne nodded and looked down at Winston and his sister, who was still looking up at him from under her hood.

Winston shook his head and turned back to Glynda. "Never mind who your son is, you said that you are here for the wedding?" He asked with a raised brow.

Jaune nodded with a smile. "Glynda and my mother were the best of friends in their days back at Atlas Academy. She's my godmother, and Leo here, he was a part of mine and Winter's team back before we graduated." He stated as he and Winter looked up at Thorne.

 _'What is he?'_ The voice asked. Jaune, Glynda and Thorne looked around for the source of the mysterious voice before Winston spoke.

"What is who?" He asked as he glanced up at his little sister.

 _'What is he?'_ It asked again as she pointed up at Thorne.

Winston raised an eyebrow before glancing up to his sister. "He, is a preposterously large teacher at the school I attend." Winston said as he turned back to Thorne.

 _'He looks scary...'_ It said as his sister moved a bit more behind Winston's head.

Winston turned to Thorne. "Excuse me, professor Thorne?" He asked, causing the giant man to look down. "Your armor is scaring my little sister. Do you suppose that since we are in a Kingdom, and not a Hunt, you could remove your armor?" He asked.

Jaune and Winter shared a look before turning to Thorne. "Actually Leo, we never have seen what you really look like under there..." Jaune stated as he looked up to his old friend.

Thorne looked to Jaune and Winter, then to Winston and his little sister. He knelt down so that his head was just above Winston's head. "If I take off this armor... Your sister will only become more frightened." He said cryptically.

Before Winston could respond, he was assaulted by a red blur.

"WINSTON!"

'Oh god don't be true...' Winston thought before he turned to look at the red mass of fabric that was now wrapped around his waist.

"Winston! We came here with Jean! Isn't this great! We can still spend break as a team!" Ruby shouted happily as her ears twitched rapidly.

"As a team? We?" Winston asked as he stared down at Ruby. "Are the others here as well?" He questioned.

Ruby nodded happily. "They're right behind me!" She shouted as she pointed to Yang and Blake as they appeared from behind a crowd.

"Hey Winston!" Yang shouted as she waved to him.

Winter raised an eyebrow as she saw Ruby's ears and Yang's wings. "Winston... Who are these children?" She asked as she turned to Winston.

Jaune covered his mouth with his hand to keep himself from laughing. "This is gonna be great." He mumbled as he looked at Thorne.

Winston pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Winter... These three, are my teammates. This," He said as he waved his hand over Ruby. "Is Ruby Rose, the leader of team RWBY. The one over there with the long hair and wings is her older sister Yang Xiao-Long. And finally, the one kind of hiding in the back over there is Blake Belladonna." Winston finished as he turned to face Winter.

Winter raised an eyebrow as she examined the rest of Winston's team. Her eyes stopped on Ruby as she walked forward. "So this is the Ruby you wrote about in your letters?" Winter asked as she looked back at Winston.

He nodded.

"I see. How very... Underwhelming." She stated as she looked down at the smaller girl. "I expected more from the way you talked about her." Winter said as she walked back to Jaune's side.

Yang looked over to Winston with a smirk. "Talking us up to your family eh?" She asked.

Winston scowled as he looked away from Yang.

 _'Team?'_ A voice asked.

JNPR and RBY looked around the area for the source of the voice before Winston cleared his throat, getting their attention. He pointed to the girl in blue on his shoulders.

"You introduced us." Yang said as she looked around the group. "How about you introduce them." She finished as she pointed to his sisters.

Winston nodded. "Very well. She is Winter, my older sister and former student of Atlas Academy." Winston started as he pointed to Winter, who was talking with Jaune and Glynda. "And this..." Winston continued as he lifted his younger sister off his shoulders and set her down in front of him. "Is my younger sister, Weiss Schnee. She's nine." He finished as Weiss looked around at the people present.

NRP and RBY looked down at Weiss with curiosity, while Jean walked up to her and knelt down.

"Hey Weiss, remember me?" She asked.

Weiss smiled and pulled Jean into a hug. _'Big sis Jean! It's so good to see you again!'_ The voice shouted in their ears.

Blake narrowed her eyes on a jagged line that moved across Weiss's neck and turned to Winston. "You said that she was Mute. I can see the scar, but how is she talking to us?" She whispered.

"Weiss is a special case. Somehow, she managed to develop a different Semblance than the rest of the Schnee family." Winston stated as he knelt down beside his sister.

Weiss moved past Jean and stopped in front of Ruby and Yang. She looked up at the two sisters with curiosity.

Yang smiled at her and she and Ruby knelt down, Yang carefully maneuvering her wings so that they wouldn't drag on the ground as she knelt. Weiss looked at her wings, then to Ruby's ears with a smile.

 _'Big brother look!_ ' The voice shouted, causing Winston to look over to Weiss and Ruby. His eyes went wide as he saw her reaching for her hood.

"No! Weiss don't!" He started as he moved to stop her hand from moving the hood.

 _'They're like me!'_ The voice said as Weiss removed her hood, revealing two snow white wolf ears sitting atop her head.

Winston and Winter froze as they saw Weiss reveal her ears to the people around. Moving quickly, Winter flicked her sword to the side, causing a wall of ice to sprout between the crowd and their group, while Winston ran over and placed Weiss's hood back on her head.

"Did anyone see her ears?" Winter asked as she ran over to Winston and Weiss.

Winston shook his head. "I don't think any of the crowd saw it. But they all saw them." Winston said as he looked up to JNPR and RBY with a glare.

* * *

 **Undisclosed Location In Atlas**

"What have you got for me today boys?" A large man asked as he turned to three smaller men behind him.

"I got these." The first and smallest said as he waved his hand. Moments later three more men walked in, each wheeling a chair in with someone unconscious in them. They rolled into the light beside the large man and stopped.

The large man knelt down and examined the three people in the chairs. "Hmm... A tiger Faunus... A good catch. They can work for days without rest." He stated as he moved onto the second one. "A common dog." He spat as he lifted her head so he could get a look at her. "If nothing else, she may be good for breeding better slaves." He said as he let her head fall and moved to the last one.

"Well now, what have we here?" He asked as he examined the scales on the third one's neck. "A cobra Faunus! A rare find indeed! The venom they produce can be an excellent weapon when used correctly... Or incorrectly for that matter." He said as he turned to the first man.

"Good work out there this week. These three will sell well." He stated as he handed the man a stack of Lien cards and turned to the second man. "Your turn."

The second man was a portly man, with a thick and unkempt beard. He waved and some men wheeled in a cage with a large man inside, easily seven feet in height.

The boss moved to examine the man and he slowly began to smile. "A lion Faunus... Interesting. They almost never leave Menagerie." He stated as he turned to the second man. "This one will be a good sale." He finished as he handed a stack of cards to the second man.

The boss turned to the third man with a grin. "Your up, dazzle me." He demanded.

The third was a tall and slender man, with a thin mustache on his upper lip. "I haven't got any live subjects at the moment." He said, causing the smile to fade from the bosses face. "But!" he started before the boss could hurt him. "I do have these." He finished as he held out a handful of photos.

The boss snatched them with a scowl and examined them. They were all Faunus that had arrived from other kingdoms for the wedding, or for the SDC press conference.

"So? What's so special about them? Foreign doesn't mean much in this market." The boss said as he turned to the third man.

"Ah, but look at the one with the long blonde hair." He said with a slick grin.

The boss raised an eyebrow, then turned to scan the photo. A nasty grin crept onto his face as he noticed her figure and the wings on her back. "Is that..."

"Yep." The third man started. "Mythological class. She's a dragon Faunus. Fetch a pretty high price at the auction too." He continued as he pointed to the photo. "And look at that figure. She'd be good for breeding, field work, guarding, you name it!" He finished.

The boss grinned and looked at the third man. "You've done outstanding work this time boys! Call everyone in Atlas, I want that Faunus girl in my hands by the night before the Auction, or heads will roll!" He shouted with a evil grin.

The men around the room nodded and left without another word. The boss moved to his computer and hit a button, revealing the face of Silas. "We've got a really good one this time boss!" He shouted happily.

"Oh?" Silas asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Do tell..."

* * *

 **PLOT TWIST! ~ Mister Tourge High-five Flexington**

 **God I am so happy that I came up with an idea to make this filler interesting! I started this as an excuse to show off Jaune and Weiss before volume three, and had no fucking clue where I was going to go with it! Then I had an Idea... Slavery!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **Now bare with me, it's an odd concept.**

 **Oh! And before I forget, JDWL is Jade-Warlords... I had a hard time coming up with a team name that obeyed the color naming rule.**

 **Leave me a review if you have any questions about the development in this chapter, or tell me what you did and did not like about this chapter.**


	9. You're An Experiment

**No one. Voted.**

 **Coco - Female: 7 - Male: 2**

 **Yatsuhashi - Female: 5 - Male: 1**

 **Fox - Female: 3 - Male: 8**

 **Just cast your votes in a review, as I can't seem to get the Poll's on my profile to work properly.**

 **My Idea to be revealed later: 2**

 **Female Maidens and Male Knights: 1**

 **Let me start this by saying that I am in no way trying to insult or offend Monty Ohm's legacy. The man was amazing.**

 **The Color Naming Rule is a real bitch to follow!**

 **For those of you who don't know what the Color Naming Rule is, let me splain it to ya.**

 **To be characters in the RWBY Universe, a characters name must be at least one of the following:**

 **1: A color  
2: Sound like a color  
3: Mean a color  
4: Make people think of a color**

 **I had someone send me a rather scathing PM calling me out on not following the Color Naming Rule that Monty established for his world. Now, I could easily refute this by saying that their parents didn't support the rule, or that they existed before the war as many seem to think that Ozpin and Salem did.**

 **BUT NO!**

 **I did my goddamn research to name these guys, and I will not have it undermined because someone was having a shitty day, and decided to take it out on an author on FF! So, to put these to rest, I give you all the list of the OC's and the color they relate to.**

 **Leoric (Leo) Thorne : Thorne - Thorn - Roses have thorns. - Roses are red. (Bit round-about, but I think red when I hear the word 'thorn')**

 **Winston Schnee : I was lazy with him. I needed a 'W' for RWBY, and decided to piggy back the character off 'Schnee' which means snow in German.**

 **Pyrrhus Nikos : Fan created name that I am beyond grateful for, I'll let them decide what it means. Until then, it is derived from ' _pyrrhos'_ a Greek adjective that means 'flame-colored' like Pyrrha**

 **Jean Arc : She didn't get a connection. Wasn't thinking of the Color Naming Rule when I was naming her, I just needed a 'J' name that wasn't in any other Gender Bend Fic's.**

 **Gwyn Wolf : Welsh for 'White'**

 **Silas Cromwell : Cromwell - Cromwell Tank - Tanks are green or a shade there of (Typically)**

 **Each of the OC's criminals that will be introduced in the filler arc are nameless, but are part of a color named group that will be revealed later.**

 **I feel like I'm forgetting someone... Never the less, I shall move on to the actual chapter, and conclude my rant.**

 **One last thing I thought of while writing this. I don't actually know the full limits that come with being 'Mute', but I've decided that in this universe at least, Weiss can make quiet sounds, like grunts or cries, but no actual words.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of it's affiliated characters.**

* * *

 **Jean's Room In Arc Castle**

JNPR and RBY were sitting around a table in the center of the room, quietly staring at Winston and Winter, who were standing on either side of Weiss at the head of the table. Weiss had her head hidden back inside her hood and had pulled it down to hide her face. The blue hood was pulled down enough that you could see the small bumps where her ears were concealed.

Winter and Winston held perfectly in sync glares as they scanned the occupants of the room. Winter had her right hand resting on the hilt of her sword, while Winston had his hands clasped tightly behind his back.

Weiss trembled slightly as her head turned in Winston's direction. ' _D-did I do something bad?_ ' She asked in a small voice.

Winter moved to speak, but was stopped when a cluster of Ice formed over her mouth. She turned to Winston with surprise as he placed a hand on Weiss's shoulder.

"That remains to be seen." He stated as he looked to his team, then to Jean's. As much as Ruby and Yang preach about trust, when you grow up in a family with a target on your back, you learn to be at least a little paranoid.

'Ruby and Yang might have trouble keeping it a secret that there is a Faunus in the Schnee family. Blake was a member of the White Fang, they could use this information as Blackmail. Ren doesn't seem to talk much, but I don't know enough to trust him. Jean already knew and has clearly not told her team. Nora may need to die. I know she can't keep a secret. Based on Pyrrhus's upbringing, he want's to keep the friends he has. He wont talk.' Winston thought as Winter shattered the Ice muzzle with the handle of her sword.

"Where did you get those?" Winter asked as she glanced down to Winston's hands.

Winston placed his hands out before him to reveal a pair of white gloves bearing the Schnee family Crest. "I took them from what was father's personal armory. They belonged to our great-great grandfather, back during the Great War. Seemed a shame to let something so pristine gather dust in the locked room of a dead man."

"You mean let something so powerful gather dust." Winter said as she glared down at the gloves. "There is a reason that father locked them away."

"Yes I'm sure there is." Winston said as he placed his hands back behind his back. "But I don't believe that man was sane in any of his choices." Winston continued as he walked up to the table and leaned forward, his hands still held tightly behind him. "Now then... I believe we all have something to talk about." He stated coldly as he glared at his classmates.

"Yeah, like how you neglected to tell us that you had a Faunus in your family." Yang growled as she glared at Winston.

Even Ruby looked a bit irritated. "I thought you didn't like us." She said with a pout.

Winston glanced to his leader with an annoyed glare, before turning his full attention to Yang. "I had no obligation to share my family tree with you or anyone else." He stated calmly as he turned back to Ruby. "And I do hate Faunus."

Weiss tilted her head towards Winston, a quiet whimper escaping the confines of her hood.

"Weiss is a special case." Winston stated quickly as he glanced to his sisters form.

"What do you mean 'special case'?" Blake demanded. "I know for a fact that neither of your biological parents have even a trace of Faunus DNA, so there is no way that she is blood related."

"How is it that you know for certain that the people we have shown the media are our true parents?" Winter asked as she stepped froward with a raised eyebrow.

Blake froze.

"I gave her access to files from the SDC archives while we were tracking Dust shipments." Winston said. "She's the only person on my team that is the same species as me after all."

Winter nodded and backed away to where she had been, failing to notice Weiss's head dipping slightly lower as Winston spoke.

Weiss change in demeanor from earlier didn't go unnoticed by Blake however, as she turned to Winston with a glare. "How can you continue to insult the Faunus like that when your supposed sister is sitting right there!?" She demanded.

"There is nothing 'supposed' about our relations!" Winston snapped as he directed his glare at Blake. "I told you what happened all those months ago when the White Fang attacked my family!" He said as he pointed a finger across the table. "You know all you need to know about my family!"

"Sounds like we missed a good story." Nora said with a frown as she turned to Ren.

"Sorry, but I don't believe we know about what happened." Pyrrhus said as he motioned to the rest of JNPR.

Winston looked over to the other team with a scowl. "Jean knows the story. If you desire to know the facts then you can ask her on your own time." Winston said as he turned back to Weiss. "I'm taking you home. Mother will be worried if you stay out too long." He said as placed a hand on her back.

Weiss nodded her head and slid out of her chair before turning towards the door.

"Hiding your sister away from the world?" Blake asked with contempt in her voice.

Winston shot a glare over his shoulder as he usher Weiss forward. "I suppose you'd know all about hiding from the world, wouldn't you." He hissed as he pushed Weiss through the door.

' _Bye everyone..._ ' Weiss's voice said as it echoed through their heads.

Yang turned to see Blake glaring at the spot where they had last seen Winston. "Just let him go." She grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest. "He clearly wasn't happy to see us here. I'll bet he was looking forward to spending two weeks away from us when he planned this trip."

Blake turned to her partner with a scowl. "How can he talk about the Faunus like that when he is related to one?!" She demanded as she slammed her hands down on the table.

Yang shrugged. "Hatred runs deep. Besides, you saw the way Winston and his sister reacted to Weiss pulling off her hood. They're ashamed of her." Yang said with a frown.

Blake turned to look at the now empty chair that Weiss once occupied. She frowned when she thought of the little girl. "She is being forced to hide her heritage because the Schnee's can't stand to admit that they have a Faunus in their bloodline." She hissed as she clenched her hands into fists.

"That's not completely accurate." Jean said, causing the room to look to her. "I don't know many details, as Winston refused to speak about it, but I do know that Weiss is not technically a Schnee."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"The SDC was formed after the Great War, with the promise that the grandson of Ajax Schnee, Winston's father, and the granddaughter of Montgomery Blanc, Winston's mother, would be married. Winter and Winston were born from the marriage, and when Winston and I were eight, there was a period of about a year where I never saw him, or his family." Jean said as she walked over to a large desk near the window.

Jean grabbed a photo off the desk that showed an image of herself and Winston as children playing in the garden. "After a year had passed, Winston returned to his home with Winter and his mother. Shortly after their return, about two weeks if I recall, Weiss was born." Jean said as she turned to show the photo to her friends.

"That still doesn't explain how she is only a Schnee by technicality." Pyrrhus said as he examine the photo before passing it to Blake.

"It does though." Blake said as she scowled at the image of Winston as a child.

Jean frowned. "Many people who are forced into an arranged marriage are unhappy with it. Based on Weiss, I'd say that Winston's parents were no exception." Jean stated as she sat down at the head of the table. "The official story is that Winston's mother took her children and abandoned Winston's father, before he caught her and brought her back to Atlas. At some point during the year she was on the run, she... uh, 'encountered', a Faunus that she had a child with." Jean finished as she looked to Ruby, patiently waiting for the moment of realization.

Ruby's brow furrowed as she went over the brief story that Jean had told them. Around the room the various teen's caught on to what Jean was implying one after the other, leaving only Ruby and Nora.

Blake's eyes were wide as she turned to Jean and opened her mouth to speak, only for Jean to hold up a finger and stare at Ruby. After allowing a few seconds to pass, and seeing Nora and Ruby making no progress towards the connection, she motioned for Blake to speak.

"Weiss is an illegitimate child..." She stated with a fair amount of shock, evident by her tone.

Jean nodded. "That much should have been obvious enough since Winston's parents are both Humans." She stated as she took her photo from Yang and stood to return it to the desk. "Winston's father was less than pleased, but after the news had gotten out that a third Schnee had been born, he couldn't kill the child, only hide her."

Ren stared at Jean in shock. "They would have killed the baby?!" He shouted.

"Yes." Jean stated as she turned to her team with a frown. "I've met Winston's father... The man is terrifying." She continued as she shivered slightly. "Winston's father was a businessman first, a human second. If he thought that it would benefit his company, he would give everything to do it. If word got out that the third Schnee child was a Faunus... Well, let's just say that Atlas is a bit less accepting of the Faunus than Vale is." Jean finished as she looked down to her lap.

Blake paused and looked down to the table. "The SDC would be ruined. Any of their business partners that didn't support inter-species breeding would cut all relations with them."

Jean nodded. "That's exactly why Winston and Winter go out of their way to hide her from the world. Make no mistake though, Winston would level Atlas if it meant keeping Weiss safe." She said as she looked back to Blake. "His comments on Faunus may be rude, and extremely bigoted, but he can be a good person when the situation calls for it."

"I think the situation has called and gotten his voicemail a few thousand times." Yang grumbled as she got out of her chair. "I'm going to go down to the city to take a look around. First time outside of Vale so I'd like to see what they have up here to do for fun." She finished as she started towards the open door. "Anyone else want to join me?" She asked as she glanced over her shoulder.

Each of the students around the table shared a look before rising from their seats and following Yang out the door. As the group exited the room, they heard shouting coming from the door across the hall.

 _"You ran away!"_

 _"No, you chased me away!"_

The group turned to look at each other before Yang began to inch closer to the door.

"Yang wait!" Jean whispered as she grabbed the other blonde by the shoulder. "That's Glynda's room! I don't even want to know what would happen if she caught us eavesdropping on her conversations!"

Yang turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't you the princess? What do you have to be afraid of?" She whispered back as she pointed at the door.

"Only in Atlas! That won't stop Glynda from giving us all detention when we get back to Beacon!" She hissed as she began to drag Yang away from the door.

"Fine." She sighed in defeat. "But your buying dinner for us when we get back."

* * *

 **Glynda's Room**

Leo and General Ironwood were having a shouting match while Glynda sat on the sofa beside them.

"How did I chase you away!? I gave you everything you needed to become one of the strongest soldiers in the army! I stuck my neck out for you!" The General roared as he slammed his gloved fist down on one of the tables.

"I was locked in a laboratory and never allowed to leave! When you finally did decide to let me out, you forced me to go to a hunters academy!" Leo shouted back as he aimed a massive armored finger down at the General.

"An look where you are now." The General stated simply as he crossed his arms. "Your probably one of the strongest creatures on the face of the planet, and you waste your potential as a teacher!"

"I want to be a teacher! Like Mom!" Leo shouted as he pointed down at Glynda. "I never wanted to join the military!"

"You were born to be a soldier!" Ironwood countered. "When I learned that Glynda was pregnant, I made every preparation to allow for you to be groomed into one of the finest soldiers in the entire military! You never wanted for anything!"

"I wanted to be able to walk around outside the lab! I wanted to see what the world was like beyond my cage!" Leo shouted as he slammed an armored foot down on the floor. "When I finally was allowed to walk around outside, I was stuck in this!" He shouted as he slammed his fist into his chest plate. "I can't even leave my armor! Do you know what it's like to spend over a decade without being able to sleep in a bed?" Leo asked as his red eyes glared down at the General.

"It was necessary to contain your abilities. When you were born your semblance wreaked havoc across the entire camp." The General stated calmly as he met Leo's glare.

"Don't even give me that." Leo warned as he took a step forward. "Don't tell me that I was too dangerous to be around. You and Mom had no trouble being in the fog, and neither did anyone else with strong willpower!" He roared as he threw the table between them to the side. "Do you know what it's like to wake up from a nightmare as a child, and not be able to get to your mother, because there are armed guards keeping you in a small glass box?"

The General opened his mouth to respond before Leo cut him off.

"DO YOU, know what it's like to be poked and prodded with needles, before being thrown into rooms where they would freeze or burn me to test what I could do?" He snarled.

"Don't act like any of that actually hurt you. Your actual body is impervious to physical damage. You were designed to be the strongest weapon that Atlas ever created."

"Who responds like that!?" Leo shouted. "'Your body is impervious to physical damage.' That's a cold comfort to a child who was locked away from the rest of his family!"

"But it's a fact Leoric. Your body under that armor can't be harmed by any form of physical attacks. Everything I've done was to strengthen you so that you could survive the horrors of this world!" Ironwood shouted as he pointed his finger at Leo's chest. "You were a part of the most successful team to ever graduate my academy! With Jaune as your leader your team has suppressed more evil than most of my military!"

"My 'team' as you call them, hasn't functioned for more than half a decade as a full group!" Leo growled as he pointed to the photo on his scroll. "Jaune and Winter have been suppressing evil, I've been hiding from you!"

"But why Leo? Why hide from your destiny?" The General asked as he strode towards Leo. "If you had joined the military when you got out of school like Winter, and not followed Jaune into the swamps of Minstral, you could have been a hero."

"I never wanted to be a hero dad, I just wanted to see the world. I never asked to be trapped in this stupid suit!" Leo said as he tried to remove his helmet. "I need the code word from Mom just to take it off."

"And it is that same suit that protects the people of Remnant. When you walk down the streets of Atlas, the people remember you. 'Leoric Thorne, The Black Knight of Atlas' they once called you." The General said with a hint of pride in his voice.

"But do you know what other people see when I walk around in the city? In Vale people see a man in a giant suit of armor with the Atlas logo on my back. They see me as a weapon that Atlas has put on patrol in their city." Leo said as he shifted the chain mail cloak that was welded to his shoulders. "I can't even get into most stores or shops with this thing on."

"That is also for the best. Why would you need to go into the cities? If you would just accept my offer and join the military, you could have people to run to the city for you." The Ironwood said as he walked closer to Leo.

"That's still not the point! When I walk down the street, be it in Atlas or Vale, people avoid me. My status as 'Hero' means nothing if the people are too scarred to rely on me. Just the other day I was helping prepare for the Vytal festival by hanging signs, and by simply looking at me, a little girl started to cry." Leo stated as he pointed to his mask. "This is not the face of a hero."

Ironwood closed the distance between them and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then we shall make it one." He said as he looked up at Leo's mask. "Join me Leo. Be a part of the fight that is coming."

"James..." Glynda hissed as she looked up at the man.

"What Glynda? Why keep the truth from him? He is just as fitting to know that there are horrors out there as we are." Ironwood said as he turned to the blonde witch.

"Ozpin will judge who is fit to fight in the coming war. If he thinks that Leo is ready, then he shall tell him." She warned as she rose from her seat.

"Man, it's sure fun to be the only one who is out of the loop." Leo said sarcastically as he looked down at his parents.

"It's nothing Leo, forget James said anything." Glynda said as she patted him on the arm.

Ironwood sighed with a scowl. "Fine, if I can't tell him then so be it. But, you never did answer my question Leo. Will you join me?" He asked once again as he extended his hand.

Leo looked down at the hand for a moment before turning to it's owner. "No." He stated as he crossed his arms.

The tic on Ironwood's brow grew larger as he glared up at Leo. "Why?" He asked as his glare intensified. "Why do you continue to refuse my extremely generous offer!? I could make you into the hero you were meant to be!" He shouted.

Leo's eyes, the only part of his true body visible from within his armor glowed red as he countered with his own shouting. "I DON'T WANT TO BE A HERO!" He declared. "I will sellout to Atlas or it's military when my skills could be better used somewhere else!" He roared.

"You can use your skills the way they were meant to be used in the military!" Ironwood shouted back.

"NO!" He roared as he slammed his fist down on a nearby table, smashing it in the process. "I was not born to serve in the military!"

"Yes you were! That is the whole reason for your conception!" Ironwood shouted.

"I'm a man who can make his own decisions!" Leo shouted.

"YOU ARE AN EXPERIMENT! MADE IN A LAB!" Ironwood roared with a look for rage crossing his face.

"James!" Glynda shouted as she slapped Ironwood across the face. "How dare you..."

"I'm not wrong Glynda. Leo was just a part of Project: Thorne, nothing more." Ironwood stated as he rubbed his cheek.

Glynda slapped him across his other cheek with a look of anger on her face. "Don't ever say something like that to our son again!" She warned.

"Just because you carried him to term, doesn't make him our son." He said angrily as he glared up at Leo's hulking form.

"He comes from my egg and your genetic material James, he's the closest thing we have to a son." Glynda said as she turned to Leo.

"No... Dad was right." Leo said as he lifted his arms to look down at them. "Atlas wanted the ultimate weapon, so you two made me. They just didn't count on me having freewill." He continued as he looked towards Ironwood with dead eyes. "Oobleck was right. This was a bad idea." He finished as he turned and walked towards the door.

"Leo wait!" Glynda called as she turned to stop him.

"Let him go!" Ironwood shouted with a scowl. "That's all he's good at!"

"I'll deal with you later James!" Glynda hissed as she reached out for Leo's arm.

Leo saw his mother to the side and pulled his arm away as he slammed the door in Glynda's face. He held the door knob for a few seconds as she tried to escape, before crushing it in his palm and turning away, ignoring the rattling sounds it made while his mother tried to open it.

As Leo turned the corner, he walked into the last person he had expected to see.

"Hello Leo." Winter said as she scowled.

"Er... Hey Winter, I figured you'd be with Jaune." Leo said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I was. He sent me to find you." She stated before turning back towards Jaune's room. "He want's to speak with you about some plans that Ozpin and Ironwood may be keeping from us." She finished as she walked around a corner.

Leo frowned under his helmet and sighed. "Oh this ought to be good." He muttered as he followed Winter around the corner.

* * *

 **White Castle**

Winston scowled as he walked with an entourage of servants behind him.

"My sister is about to become the queen of Atlas, and this castle is a mess!" He shouted as he ran his white glove across a surface, pulling off a VERY thin layer of dust. "I want this place cleaned from top to bottom by the day of the wedding, or I'll have you all replaced!" He shouted, causing the swarm of people behind him to nod and quickly disperse to clean their various charges.

Sebastian followed Winston as he continued walking, a clipboard in hand.

"And another thing, I want that piano in the theater room restrung. It was making a weird noise the last time I had a chance to play it." Winston stated as he rounded the corner, Sebastian in tow.

"I can have the piano repaired by this Friday sir." Sebastian spoke calmly as he scribbled another note down on his clipboard.

"Make sure that no one saw Weiss, and see to it that any and all pictures of her without her hood are destroyed." Winston commanded as he rounded a corner towards his new study.

"Of course sir. The young madam's identity shall remain a closely guarded secret." Sebastian stated as he bowed to Winston.

As Winston reached the door to his office he turned to look at his head butler. "One last thing. Once the wedding is over, I want you to take a vacation. You work too hard." Winston said with a frown.

Sebastian bowed again. "Thank you sir, but I do not require a vacation. There is far too much to do up here for me to worry about taking a personal day."

"I'm not joking Sebastian. I'm booking you a flight to a tropic beach somewhere for the day after the wedding. I'll be here for the next two weeks, so I can keep the staff in line while your away." Winston said as he gave his butler a stern look.

"But sir! I must protest! I am one of the only staff members that knows of Miss Weiss's true identity, if I am gone, who will take care of the young Miss?" Sebastian asked as he attempted to prevent his vacation.

"This matter is not up for debate. You will leave the day after the wedding." Winston stated firmly as he opened the door to the study, revealing a large room with a desk in the back center, and book shelves lining each of the side walls.

Sebastian opened his mouth to object, before closing it and adopting a blank look. "Of course sir. I shall have my bags packed and be ready to depart."

"MASTER WINSTON!" A voice shouted from down the hall.

Sebastian and Winston turned to see one of the maids running down the hall in their direction. She slowed as she approached the two men and took a deep breath.

"Miss Weiss is gone!" She shouted.

"What!?" Winston growled. "Where did she go?!" He demanded as he walked towards the poor woman.

"We don't know sir! We escorted her to her room as you instructed, but when the chef arrived to bring her lunch, her room was empty!" The maid shouted frantically.

Winston spun around to face Sebastian, his face bearing his usual scowl. "Search this castle top to bottom! I want her found by dinner!" He shouted before storming off down one of the nearby halls.

Sebastian turned to the maid with a serious face. "You heard the master, go!" He shouted as he pointed to where she had come from. With a startled squeak, the woman turned and raced off back to where she had come from.

Sebastian turned and closed the door to the study before walking off down one of the empty corridors to search for Weiss, failing to notice the small blue blur that slipped out the window in the study.

* * *

 **Not gonna lie, got some serious writers block this chapter, sorry if it shows through quality wise.**

 **I think that my rant in the beginning of this chapter was sufficient. No need to try to give some new information down here.**

 **Leave me a review telling me what you did or didn't like in this chapter, and I'll try to answer any questions that arise in the next chapter.**


	10. Vetements

**No one. Voted.**

 **Coco - Female: 7 - Male: 2**

 **Yatsuhashi - Female: 5 - Male: 1**

 **Fox - Female: 3 - Male: 8**

 **Just cast your votes in a review, as I can't seem to get the Poll's on my profile to work properly.**

 **My Idea to be revealed later: 2**

 **Female Maidens and Male Knights: 1**

 **Now then, several of you seem to want to sympathize with Winston, but just can't get past his cold exterior... or his cold interior. Now, I will not reveal how it will happen, but I can assure you that by the end of the first filler arc you will have a far better understanding of Winston than before.**

 **Also, before I forget, Winston is honestly more OC than gender swap at this point as some of you have most likely noticed. A few of the things that changed from Weiss to Winston, are physical strength and height. Winston's full height is 6'5", and he can lift about a quarter what Yang can. (I'm gonna estimate that at about 500 lb)**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of it's affiliated characters.**

* * *

 **White Castle Weiss's Room**

"Where the fuck did she go!?" Winston roared as he threw a bed against the wall to check under it.

Several servants were cowering off to the side, praying that their masters rage wouldn't turn on them next.

"Come now master, Miss Weiss has done this before. She knows better than to leave the property without supervision." Sebastian said as he waved his hands around, trying to calm Winston down.

"You let this happen before?!" Winston shouted as he spun around to face Sebastian.

Sebastian nodded. "Miss Weiss is quite adept at sneaking around. She calls this game, 'hide and seek'. I do recall playing it with you several times when you were young."

Winston groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, his butlers sarcasm wearing on his nerves. "The second I find her, she is grounded until I leave for Vale!" Winston declared as he stormed out of the room.

Sebastian sighed before turning to the group of cowering servants. "Back to work you louts!" He barked as they scrambled off of the floor, trampling each other to avoid the gaze of the head butler.

Sebastian watched as the group scurried out of the room, leaving a dazed and trampled maid in their wake. "Amarillo! On your feet!" Sebastian said as he clapped his hands.

The maid in question quickly shot to her feet with a hand on her forehead saluting. If the bruises she received from the rest of the staff bothered her, she didn't show it. "Yes sir!" She stated as she stared at Sebastian with a smile.

Sebastian adjusted his glasses before fixing Amarillo with a light glare. "Master Winston is out of sorts at the moment, and is very stressed over the present matter of Miss Weiss's disappearance." Sebastian started as he looked down at the smaller woman. "I want you to fix him some of your 'special Tea' so he will calm down."

Amarillo nodded her head with a large smile, before turning to the plant of Weiss's dresser. With a wave of her hand, the plant began to grow before a long vine snaked out from the plant and wrapped itself around her hand. "You can count on me sir!" She said as she saluted Sebastian. "The Master will be calmed down within the hour!"

Sebastian snapped his fingers in front of her face quickly. "Now Amarillo, this is important. Don't knock him out, just calm him down. I don't want him to fire you for drugging him." Sebastian said with a serious expression.

* * *

 **Atlas Merchants Square**

"Whoa! Look at all the shops!" Yang shouted as she spun around, starring at the plethora of shops that were all around her.

Jean giggled at Yang as she ducked out of the way of the girls wings as she spun. "Welcome to the heart of the city of Atlas. This is merchants Square, a place where you can buy and sell almost everything on Remnant." She pointed down one of the streets. "Down there is food ave. There are coffee shops, fast food and even some five star restaurants."

Pointing to the north where they could see some larger buildings she spoke again. "That is Mall street, you can find general goods like clothes and household supplies there." Pointing again behind them she laughed as she noticed Jaune walking into one of the stores. "That is the electronics district. If it runs on electricity, then they sell it. Jaune especially like's that store over there in the center that sells video games."

"Your older brother still plays video games?" Yang asked with a grin.

"He's only 27 Yang. I don't think that video games have a limit for being too old." Jean said as she pointed to the last street. "That is the financial district. ATM, Bank, Government buildings, etc."

"Isn't that Professor Thorne?" Yang asked as she pointed at the hulking suit of armor that was walking down the sidewalk towards them.

"You'd think that people would be a bit unnerved when they see a ten foot suit of armor walking towards them." Blake said flatly as she scanned for people attempting to avoid the professor."

Jean shook her head. "I didn't know who he was until I learned he was Glynda's son, but he's famous here in Atlas. He and JDWL were the strongest team to ever come out of Atlas, with Winter's control of her Semblance, Jaune's infinite strength, Thorne's immunity to damage, and Diamond's... Uhh..." Jean paused as her face scrunched up and she placed a finger to her lips. "I actually don't know what Diamond did. She died before I really had much of a chance to meet her."

"Who was Diamond?" Ruby asked as she looked up at Jean.

"She was the professor's partner on JDWL. She died about six years ago while on a mission with him." Jean said as she looked over at Thorne who was still walking towards them. "Jaune and Winter were on a separate assignment in Vacuo at the time, so they didn't get the news until almost a month after it happened."

"Must be hard to lose someone and not be told right away." Pyrrhus said as the professor passed the group with a nod.

"How did she die?" Nora asked as she watched Thorne turn and walk into one of the stores.

Jean shrugged. "Nobody knows for certain. The only one with her at the time of her death was the professor, and he refuses to talk about it with anyone."

"That's not suspicious at all." Blake said sarcastically as she turned and began to walk towards Mall street. "I'm going to go see if Mall street has any good book stores, I'll catch up with you guys later."

Yang and Ruby watched Blake walk away with matching frowns.

"Well, there goes another member of our team." Yang said as she turned towards Jean. "Know of any good clothing stores?" She asked.

Jean smiled. "Yeah, there are a few on Mall street that have some nice designer brands. Lots of the stores in the kingdom like to give me discounts." She said as she turned and started off in the direction Blake had gone.

"Ya think it may have something to do with the fact that your the Princess?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Even the royal family has to pay full price for the goods in our kingdom. My great great grandfather didn't want us to act too spoiled while we were in our own kingdom." Jean said as she turned to look back at her group.

Pyrrhus nodded and turned to Yang with a light smile. "It was similar for me back in Minstral. Because of my fame, people would give me discounts so I would shop at their store and raise their popularity."

Ruby put her hand on her chin as she looked up at Pyrrhus. "That makes sense, I think I saw Gavin Free from the Achieve Men talking about that in an interview once."

Pyrrhus nodded again as he turned to Ruby. "Having people of high status purchase things from you can boost your stores popularity by advertising that a specific person shops there. I myself have a sponsorship currently with the company that gave me the metal to make Milo and Akouo."

"Blah, blah, blah, all I heard is that Jean is going to buy us clothes! Lets go!" Nora shouted as she started to push Jean forwards.

"Easy Nora, easy!" Jean shouted as she tried to keep her balance. She looked back over her shoulder to see Ruby and Yang following them, but leaving Ren and Pyrrhus standing their looking mildly awkward. "You guys coming?" She called as Nora turned to look back at Ren.

Ren and Pyrrhus shared a look before turning back to the girls.

"I uh... I don't think there'd be any clothes there for us." Pyrrhus said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Jean shook her head. "Nonsense, these stores cater to both genders." She said while she motioned for the two to follow them.

"Well I don't really have any money with me." Pyrrhus said as he waved his hands in front of him. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"Don't worry about it P." Yang said as she aimed a thumb at Jean. "You said it yourself, famous people get better prices, having you and Jean might get us free stuff."

"Well, yeah I did say that but-" Pyrrhus tried but was cut off by Ren.

"We don't want to go clothes shopping." He stated flatly as he looked at the group of girls.

"Er... Yeah, what he said." Pyrrhus stated as he looked at the ground by his feet.

Jean frowned. "I suppose I should have realized that. Winston never really wanted to go clothes shopping much when we were younger either."

Yang stepped forward and placed a hand on Jean's shoulder. "Ah don't worry about it. Guys don't really like to shop for clothes that much. I'm pretty sure my dad has like three different shirts in total."

"I guess." Jean said as she turned to Ren and Pyrrhus. "We'll meet you guys later then, feel free to go do what ever you want."

Ren and Pyrrhus shared a look before racing off to join Jaune in the video game store.

Jean and the others took off towards Mall street, none of them noticing the small girl in blue who had slipped into their group.

* * *

 **A Shadowy And Evil Looking Alley**

"Did you guys find her?" The Large man asked as he looked down at the three men before him.

The portly man nodded. "Yeah boss, we found her." He said as he shoved the rest of his burger into his mouth.

"But?" The boss asked as he stared down at the man. "If you found her then where is she?"

The small man stepped forward and spoke next. "There's been a... Complication."

"What kind of 'complication'?" The boss growled.

"Well you see sir... The Faunus is in the Princess's entourage. We couldn't get close if we tried." The small man said as he shrunk away from the boss.

"I don't care if the King himself is holding her hand! Do you know how much a Mythological class can be sold for!?" The boss shouted, causing the three men to flinch. "Never mind what those suit's will pay at the auction just to be able to say that they own one, my employer will give us 3.6 billion Lien to capture her alive!" He continued as he slammed his hand against the brick wall beside him.

The tall thin man exhaled a breath of smoke and looked over to the boss. "Have you even seen the kind of security that follows the royal family? The King and Queen are mostly unprotected, but they have an entire military that covertly watches each of their children while they're in the city!" He said with a frustrated growl. "It'd be easier to kidnap the King himself!" The thin man growled with frustration.

"You think that I don't know the risks!?" The boss shouted as he grabbed the thin man by the throat. "I've been in this game since you were still stealing lunch money back in school!" He continued as he pinned the man to a wall, ignoring the grunts of pain from the man as he attempted to pry the hand off his neck. "I'm speaking from experience here, and I'm telling you, this time, the rewards are MORE than worth the risks." The boss said as he released the man, who fell to his knees and began gasping for air.

"Any of you know the legal punishment behind harming a Faunus in Atlas? Any of you?" The boss asked as he scanned over his men. "No? Then I'll tell you. For harming a Faunus from another kingdom, it can be anywhere from a night in jail, to a year. For harming a free Faunus on the streets, it may be a week in jail or a slap on the wrists. Harming a slave can get you the most with up to ten years on property damage charges." He stated as he paced in front of his men.

"That annoying Faunus Rights War never made it to Atlas, and what little it did was snuffed out by the military and government, so we still get to have slaves here, same goes for Minstral." He said as he looked at the thin man. "If we attack a Faunus on the street, nothing will happen to us, because we can say that they started it, or we can bribe the cops to look the other way. Why do you think this will be any different?" He asked.

As the thin man made to answer, he was cut off by a shrill voice from below them.

"Boss!" The voice shouted. The small man crouched down and lifted the top of the storm drain below them, revealing a man in a brown hood and a red mask. "The target has just entered a designer clothing store a block north of here."

The boss turned to the thin man with a raised eyebrow. "Well? That's your territory, got any ideas?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

The thin man took a deep breath from his cigarette before exhaling and looking down at the man in the drain.

"What store did she go into?" He asked.

"The one with the really annoying name."

"Vetements, eh?" The thin man asked aloud as he took another puff of his cigarette. "Have the men make some knockout gas. Vetements has a private AC system, so sneaking the gas in should be a cake walk. Have some men go in before hand with masks to grab the girl when she drops, then have a few others waiting by the back door to get the girl out of the store." The thin man watched as the man in the hood vanished back into the pipe and the smaller man allowed the lid to drop closed.

The thin man took a final puff from his cigarette before he flicked it to the ground and crushed it. "If all goes according to plan, the girl will be in our hands within the hour." He said as he turned to the boss.

The boss nodded and looked down the alley to the street where the citizens were walking past, happily oblivious to the criminal world around them. "We'll see."

* * *

 **Vetements**

Jean and her group walked through the door to the fancy shop and was immediately surrounded by the staff as they clamored to help Jean in anyway they could.

"Ah, Princess Jean! We haven't seen you for several months!" A tall man with a thin goatee said as he clapped his hands together.

"Indeed! We've gotten in several new designs since you last graced our shop with your presence!" Another said as he put on a smile that looked extremely forced.

"Yes, please come right this way. I can show you some of the new outfits that have arrived." The third said as he snapped his fingers, causing the other two to move forward and grab Jean in an attempt to escort Jean through the store, in the process however, they managed to push away Yang, Nora and Ruby.

"Gah! A Faunus!" The man with the thin goatee said with a startled cry.

"Get them out of the store before they get fleas all over the clothes!" The second said as he shielded his face and turned away from Yang.

"What the hell?!" Yang yelled as a fourth man, this one much larger then the first three and wearing a fancy suit, grabbed her by the arms and unceremoniously threw her out the door and onto the street.

The large man moved towards Ruby to do the same, only to be blasted against the back wall of the store by an explosive round from Ember Celica.

"Hands off my sister!" She shouted as she stalked back into the store, fists raised in an offensive manner.

"Call the police! This Faunus just assaulted our guard!" The one with the goatee shouted as he raced for the corded scroll on the desk. He quickly snatched up the scroll and began to type in the number for the police, before a hand came down on the receiver. The man turned with an infuriated expression, before noticing that it was Jean who had stopped him.

"Ah Princess! Our apologies, we neglected to show you around due to some trash that followed you in off the street. Worry not though, I shall have the police remove them post haste! No Faunus shall bother our princess!" He said as he attempted to dial again, only for Jean to stop him again. He turned to Jean with a questioning stare. "Princess?" He asked.

"These are my friends. I expect them to be treated with the utmost respect while we are shopping here." Jean stated as she turned to the rest of her group, ignoring the way the mans mouth hung open.

"But princess! What would your father say if he saw you slumming around with their kind?!" The man with the goatee asked in a panic as he ran around the counter to stand beside her.

"I don't care what my father will say. He is only the King for a few more days, then my brother will rule Atlas. When that happens, I expect things will begin to change around here quite quickly." Jean stated confidently as she strode over to Yang and Ruby. "Sorry about that guys. Faunus aren't exactly treated the same here that they are in Vale." Jean said as she shook her head.

"We don't exactly get the best treatment there either." Yang grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Jean gave her a sympathetic smile, before scanning around them with a worried expression. "Have you two seen Nora?" She asked, causing all three of them to begin to look in all directions in hopes of spotting the hyperactive girl.

"WHOA! LOOK AT THIS ONE! IT'S PINK!" A voice shouted from the back of the store.

Yang, Ruby and Jean turned to see Nora spinning around while she held a dark pink skirt in her hands.

" _It's so pretty!_ " Another and more eerily familiar voice said from the same direction.

The three watched as Weiss walked out of the changing room beside Nora, he hood up, but the cloak was pulled back, showing off a shin length summer dress with a light blue color, and white and gold embroideries.

 **(I'm going to take a quick second here to say that my IRL preference of clothes is mostly Denim and Flannel, so don't be offended if I don't seem like I have much in the way of high fashion sense.)**

"Weiss!?" Jean shouted as she and the other two ran over to where Nora was spinning. "What are you doing here?! Is Winston with you?!" Jean asked frantically as she knelled down and began to examine Weiss for any injuries.

Weiss shook her head. " _Big brother was being mean, so I decided to come hang out with you!_ " She said happily as she spoke directly into their minds.

"Oh dear..." Jean said as she scanned over Weiss.

"What's the problem?" Yang asked as she looked over to see Nora had stopped spinning, only to fall over onto a shelf of expensive clothes.

"Winston is extremely protective of Weiss, even when we were children he wouldn't let her out of his sight unless Winter was around." She said as she let Weiss run over to another part of the store to look at some other clothes.

"So whats that mean?" Ruby asked as she watched Jean dial Winston's number.

"It means that if she's down here with us and he doesn't know, he's tearing the estate apart looking for her." Jean said as she put the scroll to her ear.

"Didn't you say he was just ashamed of her? Why not just let her play out here for a while then bring her back to him?" Yang asked.

"Because she is nine, doesn't have an Aura, and I don't want to get back to the mountain and see the White Castle leveled." She put up a finger, signaling that she had gotten through. "Winston? Yes, yes I know your very busy, but I need to tell you something."

 _"What is it!?"_ Ruby and Yang could hear him shout through the scroll.

"I found Weiss. She's with me, Yang, Ruby and Nora at Vetements. You know, that fashion store on Mall street?"

Yang and Ruby could hear him yelling on the other side of the scroll before he spoke to Jean again.

"What!? You'll be here in two minutes? Were you already heading towards the city?" She asked with a confused expression. "Eh? H-hello?" She called into her scroll before she pulled it away from her ear with an angry look on her face. "Only that man has the nerve to hang up on a princess." She said with a pout.

"So Winston's coming here?" Ruby asked as she watched Jean place the scroll in her pocket.

"Yeah, sounded pretty relived too. Wonder how long he's been looking for her."

"Couldn't have been that long." Yang said as she pulled a yellow and black shirt out of the pile that had fallen on top of Nora. "It's only been a few hours since we saw them together in your room."

Jean nodded as she put out a hand to let Nora pull herself up. "I suppose. Still, after having known Winston for a few month, surely you know that he tends to take things to the extreme on only a moments notice."

Ruby and Yang shared a look before turning back to Jean with a nod.

"Even if she was only missing for a few minutes, Winston would have the entire army scouring the country to find her." Jean said as Nora managed to dig herself out and grab the hand that was offered.

" _Jean! Look at this one! It's so pretty!_ " Weiss's voice echoed through their heads as she raced over to them with a shirt that had a Beowolf mask design on the back.

"Pretty?" Yang asked as she knelled down to look at the shirt. "I didn't think a girl your age would consider a Grimm pretty."

Weiss began to nod frantically. " _They look so cool! I saw big sis fighting one once!_ " She said as she looked at Jean. " _Can I get it? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?_ " She asked, her voice droning on into infinity.

"Fine! I'll get it for you, but we'd better see if there's one in your size." Jean said as she grabbed the shirt and took Weiss over to the counter.

"So what's going on? When did Weiss get here?" Nora asked as she watched the man behind the counter begin to measure Weiss to find the correct size, which would no doubt be a challenge, given that the store catered to a more mature demographic.

"Not sure when she got here, but Winston's on his way to pick her up." Ruby said as she looked at the clothes before her, her ears twitching in annoyance as she looked around the store.

"Winston's on his way, huh? Ooh! Maybe he'll go shopping with us!" Nora said with a big smile as she grabbed the pink skirt and dove into the closest changing room.

Yang watched Nora vanish with an amused smirk before she turned to Ruby, who was still looking around at the air vents.

"What're ya doing?" She asked as Ruby held up a hand to her face.

"Shhhh! Don't you hear that?" She asked.

Yang raised her ear into the air and cupped a hand around it. After a few moments she brought her hand back down and shook her head. "I don't hear anything."

Ruby scanned the room again before a wave of exhaustion hit her and she slammed her hand onto the table for support. "It's like hissing noise! Like air being let out of a tire!" She said before her head hit the ground.

Yang quickly brought a hand to her face in a vain attempt to cover her mouth and nose before she too began to feel faint. Looking around she could see three men moving towards her, and she could see Jean and Weiss on the ground by the counter. Offering one final glare, she collapsed to the floor and allowed the darkness to take her.

Two of the men grabbed Yang and lifted her into the air before walking towards the counter, while the third looked over Ruby.

"Bah, a Lynx Base, useless." He said as he kicked her to the side and began to follow his comrades. As he walked, his eyes fell upon Jean and Weiss, the later of which was now missing her hood, exposing her ears to the man.

"Well now what have we here?" He said with a grin behind his mask. He grabbed Weiss and threw her over his shoulder before exiting the store and scanning the alley. Once it was clear he walked over to the truck and greeted his fellow kidnappers.

"Hey Inky, what took so long?" The one in the drivers seat asked as he watched Inky lay Weiss down on the floor behind him.

Look what I found boys." He said as he took Weiss cloak off and threw it onto the ground outside the truck. "We got ourselves a White Wolf Base. Boss is going to be pleased with this one. And look at this." He said as he rolled her onto her side, exposing a tail hiding under her skirt. "This one's got two traits."

The other men in the truck looked down at Yang and Weiss as though they had just struck gold.

The man in the drivers seat grinned as he slammed his foot onto the pedal, causing the truck to jump forward. "We're eating good tonight boys!"

* * *

 **This chapter was shamefully short, and I am so sorry for it.**

 **With my new job at the amusement park, I find less and less time to write, so I try to get out what I can when it's possible. I was going to make this longer, but I needed to get this out so I could at least tell everyone that this hasn't been abandoned, only delayed.**

 **Once the summer gets into full swing and more people start working at the park, I'l have a bit more time to write.**

 **Leave me a review telling me what you did and didn't like, and I'll try to answer any questions in the next chapter.**


	11. It's All In the Wrists

**Finally some damn votes! Two chapters I waited for someone to remember that I still need to decide what the gender of CFVY are, other than Velvet. Still need some people to vote for the maiden Idea though.**

 **Coco - Female: 9 - Male: 2**

 **Yatsuhashi - Female: 6 - Male: 2**

 **Fox - Female: 4 - Male: 9**

 **Just cast your votes in a review, as I can't seem to get the Poll's on my profile to work properly.**

 **My Idea to be revealed later: 2**

 **Female Maidens and Male Knights: 1**

 **Now then! RatedRSuperStar87, don't stop commenting on Winston, merely because I take notice of it. I love that people are conflicted over him, he isn't meant to be likable at the moment. I want Winston to be one of those characters that starts out as an antagonist, but then slowly make his was to anti-hero. Be certain that I will never write a chapter with Winston being absurdly polite to someone other than Weiss.**

 **My first few dozen attempts at FF writing suffered from much of the common issues. Be it bad grammar, bulky paragraphs, or overpowered OC's, and I'd like to think I've done a half decent job with Winston, despite the power spike he's going to get with the gloves.**

 **Keep a close watch on what I say about the gloves over volume two by the way, I want to make it's clear just how powerful they are.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of it's affiliated characters.**

* * *

 **Mall Street**

There was a thundering boom as Winston crashed down on the street below, scattering the paramedics and police, and startling the crowd gathered around the store. Pulling his feet from the cracked concrete below him, Winston allowed for the white wings on his back to disintegrate into snowflakes before stalking towards the entrance to Vetements.

"Mr. Schnee, I'm afraid we can't let you past." One of the Atlas soldiers said as two of them stepped into his path.

"Out of my way!" Winston snapped as he flicked his hand to the side, causing a spire of ice to erupt from the ground and knock the two men to the ground several feet away.

"Freeze!" Another soldier shouted as he raised his gun and took aim at Winston.

"An excellent suggestion!" Winston growled as he clapped his hands together before spreading his arms and releasing a white pulse that froze the soldiers where they stood. "Maybe now I can have some quiet."

Winston pushed past the frozen soldiers and stalked into the Vetements building, only to be met with a feeling of immediate exhaustion. Quickly stepping back into the open air, he drew Destiny and slashed the nearby windows, allowing for the gas to exit the store. Ever the patient man, Winston froze several bubbles of air onto his back before entering the store again.

A quick scan of the room made him realize that the gas was still being pumped into the building. 'Useless guards. They never even found the source.' Winston thought as he hit each of the vents with a blast of ice dust from Destiny. Walking over to Jean he knelt down and placed one of the air bubbles over her face before lifting her bridal style and carrying her out of the building.

As he exited the store he was met with several angry soldiers and concerned paramedics.

"The Princess! Quickly, get her onto the stretcher!" One shouted as he and three others raced over to Winston. Allowing him little time to decide himself, they took Jean from his arms and raced her back to the ambulance. Winston watched them load her in before he heard the tires start to squeal. He quickly reached for his weapon to stop the vehicle, but was beaten to the punch as a massive great sword planted itself in front of the car.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Jaune asked as he tore the drivers side door off and yanked the man from his seat. "There are still other people in that store! Get more ambulances here and treat them!" He roared as he threw the man to the ground and walked to Winston. "Mind if I borrow this?" He asked as he took one of the bubbles and walked into the store.

Moments later he emerged with Nora and several employee's in his arms. Strolling towards the ambulance, he spared a quick look down to Winston. "There's still one person in there, better get her before the gas does any more damage." Jaune said before turning to place Nora in the arms of a medic.

Winston nodded and turned towards the store, hoping that the final one was his sister. Walking back into the store, Winston noticed that the air was becoming slightly more breathable, but still refused to remove the mask, lest the gas catch him off guard. Taking a look around he noticed a familiar red cloak poking out from behind an overturned table in the back.

'If she's the last one... Then where the hell's my sister?' Winston thought as he took one final look around the room before walking over and removing the table from atop his unconscious leader. He placed one arm under her knee's and another behind her shoulders and pulled her to his chest before standing and walking out of the store. Several paramedics rushed over to take Ruby from his arms, but a quick glare from him stopped them in their tracks.

"You have enough to transport. I shall take this one myself." Winston stated as he pushed past the paramedics into a clearing in the center of the street.

"She could have serious damage to her lungs! You will never make it to the hospital on time by foot!" One of the paramedics snapped as he tried to take Ruby from Winston by force.

"BACK!" Winston roared as he snapped his fingers, causing a spire of ice to appear from the ground and slam into the mans chest, knocking the wind from his lungs and forcing him to his knees. "I never said I was going by foot you fool, but I did say I was taking her with me. The next time you try to go against what I say, I'll have you fired."

"You... You don't have that authority!" The man wheezed as he slowly got to his feet.

Winston shot the man an amused look as he spoke. "Oh really? Just who do you think funds the hospitals in this city? Ask your boss what will happen if the SDC pulls it's funding because one EMT decided they wanted to stand up to Winston Schnee." He hissed as he spun around and continued on with Ruby in his arms, leaving the paramedic with a stunned expression on his face.

"Winston!" Winston turned to see Blake running up to him with a confused expression on his face. "What's going on!?" She asked.

"I don't know." He growled as he shifted Ruby in his arms so his arm was around her waist. "But you can be sure I'm going to find out." He finished as he wrapped his other arm around Blake's waist.

Blake blushed as she turned to Winston with a confused and embarrassed expression. "Winston! What are you-" Blake started before Winston cut her off.

"Just watch." He growled in frustration as two glyph's appeared on each of his shoulder blades. Moments later snow shot forth from the them before wrapping themselves into tight wings. After a few more seconds feathers began to form.

"When did you learn to do this!?" Blake asked in surprise as Winston's wings finished forming. Exhaling, Winston opened his eyes and clenched his hands, causing the wings to start to beat. As they started to rise, Blake grabbed onto Winston tighter.

"Winston! I'm not good with heights!" She shouted as she hugged herself closer to him.

Winston kept his trademark scowl on his face as they rose above the building. He leaned forward and they began to fly towards Schnee Manor.

* * *

 **Undisclosed Location**

"Throw them in there." The thin man said as he walked past a large cage. The men behind him turned and tossed the unconscious forms of Yang and Weiss into the cage and slammed the door.

"CAREFUL YOU IDIOTS!" The boss shouted as he stalked up to the cage. "My employer doesn't want the merchandise damaged. Those wings need to be in perfect shape when she goes out on stage." The boss peered into the cage and narrowed his eyes on Yang's wrists. "What are those?" He asked as he pointed down at Ember Celica.

The thin man scratched his chin before shrugging. "Who knows? She's foreign, maybe they're some kind of jewelry."

"Take them away from her." A voice from behind them said as Silas walked into the room. "She won't be needing them where she's going."

"Who're you?!" The thin man asked as he drew his gun and aimed it at Silas's head.

The boss turned sharply and smacked the thin man's gun aside before shouting at the man. "He's my employer you incompetent boob! Now take those things off of her before he has to ask again!"

The thin man shot his boss a glare and turned to the cage with Yang and Weiss. He gave the door a sharp tug, causing the hinges to make a loud screeching noise before colliding with the wall behind it.

The man stalked toward Yang and turned her over before an explosion knocked him into the ceiling above. The people in the room turned toward the loud noise and saw Yang climbing to her feet.

She took a quick glance around the room before grabbing the thin man by the neck and hauling him into the air. "Anyone moves and this guys loses his head!" She shouted as she placed her other gauntlet under his chin.

The boss scowled as he took a step forward. "You ain't really in the position to be giving orders beast. Case you haven't noticed, your surrounded." He said as he waved his hand around the room. A dozen men raised their weapons and aimed them at Yang, each one flipping the safety off as the red dots covered her back.

Yang tightened her hold on the thin mans neck and narrowed her eyes at the boss. "I've got Aura to protect me from those long enough to kill this guy and escape. You really want to see if you can keep me in a cage?"

The boss scowled as he reached behind himself to grab his gun.

 _*Clap. Clap. Clap.*_

Yang and the boss turned to see Silas walk around the boss into full view of the rest of the room, a sickening smile on his face as he clapped his hands.

"Bravo miss Xiao-Long, bravo. I would expect nothing less from a huntress in training." He said as he placed his hands in his pockets.

Yang narrowed her eyes at Silas as he became visible. "Who are you!?" She demanded. "How do you know who I am!?"

The smile never left Silas's face as he walked closer. "I make it a point to learn all that I can about my property. You grew up on Patch, a small and pathetic island off the coast of Vale, your father and uncle are teachers, and you and your little sister were invited here by the Princess herself to attend the royal wedding."

Yang growled as she tightened her hold on the mans neck and shook him. "The hell do you mean your property!?"

Silas stopped a few feet before the cage and spoke. "Quite simple really, I own you and that little white bastard beside you." Silas said as he looked down at Weiss.

Yang glanced down at the still sleeping form of Weiss before glaring up at Silas. "You can't own a person!"

Silas raised a hand to stop her as he started to speak. "Ah, but your not a person! Your some Faunus trash that walked into my kingdom attached to the boot of the Princess. Like some kind of gum wrapper that you find on the street."

Yang growled. "So your a racist, go figure. But do you really think you can get away with this? Think the police will allow you to kidnap someone like this? They're gonna find you and your going to be spending the rest of your life behind bars!"

Silas chuckled. "Oh I think not. You see, here in Atlas we still have slavery. Your species pathetic revolution never made it up here, and whatever did, was captured and put to work. The police know full well what I'm doing, they just don't care!"

Yang yanked the thin man down to eye level and gave Silas a glare. "Then I'll just have to force you to let us go. What's going to happen now, is I'm gonna grab Weiss, then your going to move out of the way and we're gonna walk right through those doors. Otherwise I'll break this guys neck." She finished as she shook the thin man.

Silas began to laugh harder as he heard Yang's demands. "Oh you pathetic creatures always thinking you have the power to make demands of your betters. Did you honestly think that the only precaution to keep you in there was some thin metal bars?" He asked as he pulled a remote out of his right pocket.

Yang looked at the remote with confusion. "What's that for?" She asked warily.

Silas pointed at his neck. "Helps to train the hounds not to bite the masters." He said as he pressed the button on the center.

Yang immediately felt a tingling and burning sensation run through her body as the collar on her neck lit up and began to shock her. She dropped the thin man to the ground and fell to her knees's in pain as she grabbed at the collar. Small bolts of lightning streaked across Yang's crippled form as she fell onto her side, each strike lighting up the dark room a little more. Silas's grin never faltered as he took a knee beside the cell and spoke to Yang.

"You still think you can make demands of me?" He asked as he released the button. Yang let out several ragged breaths before attempting to get to her feet, only to feel a sharp pain in her side as Silas's foot connected with her ribs, sending her sprawling across the stone floor. She felt her wings hit the bars on the opposite wall hard. "You Faunus are nothing more than a failed product of Ohm's great vision. A mistake meant for no purpose other than to server your betters."

Yang coughed some blood as she glared up at Silas with hazy vision. She whispered something under her breath.

Silas crouched down beside her and placed his ear near her head. "What was that? Got something else to say to your new master?" He asked smugly.

...

...

...

 _*Spit*_

Yang spit blood across Silas's face as the man fell back and recoiled away from the crimson liquid pooling around Yang's mouth. "I said, wait until my team catches you." She said with a ragged laugh.

The smile finally left Silas's face as he grabbed the remote from the ground and pressed the button causing Yang's screaming to resume as the collar shocked her relentlessly.

"I can see we're going to have to teach you some manners." He growled as he wiped the blood off his face.

* * *

 **White Castle**

The ground shook as Winston landed in the courtyard, his knee's buckling as they met the ground, causing him to drop Ruby and Blake as the three tumbled across the courtyard.

Ruby's unconscious form bounced across the grass before coming to a stop gently before a great tree, while Blake managed to roll into a crouch along a stone path. Winston was not so lucky as his wings threw him off balance in his roll, causing the Schnee to bounce past Ruby into the side of the tree with a loud crack.

Blake watched as Winston crumbled to the ground. "Graceful as ever." She said sarcastically as he began to pry himself from the dirt, groaning as he stood to his full height.

"I'll admit I need to work on my landings. Can't fault me though, I've only flown with them twice. I'm not Yang." He grumbled before crouching down and collecting Ruby into his arms.

"How can you even fly? Yang's bones are genetically enhanced by her Faunus DNA to allow them to be light enough to fly. Even if your Glyphs can create them, they don't have the power to lift you for extended periods of time." Blake said as she picked up Crescent Rose, grunting slightly as she realized just how ridiculously heavy it is.

"Shocking how heavy it is ain't it." Winston said as he saw Blake struggle with the compact weapon. "Amazing a girl her size can swing it around like she does. Absurd strength must run in the family."

Winston motioned for Blake to follow him as he took Ruby through the gardens.

"The gloves."

Blake raised an eyebrow as she turned to Winston. "Pardon?"

"You asked how I can fly. It's the gloves. They give me the ability to fly." Winston said as he kicked the door to the main gate open.

"How could gloves do that?" She asked with a confused look on her face.

Winston grunted as he shifted Ruby on his shoulder. "My great-great-great grandfather created them while he fought alongside King Geppetto in the Great War. They greatly increase the power of my family's Semblance. The power boost they give is so great in fact, that his grandson, my great grandfather, had them sealed away in the family Vault."

Blake frowned. "If they were sealed away, how did you get them?" She asked.

Winston shot her a quick glance before turning to walk down a stone path towards the main entrance of White Castle. "As the head of the Schnee family I have access to the Vault. It had all manner of powerful weapons, magical artifacts from my family's great legacy, and treasures that trace all the way back to the founding of the original four kingdoms."

"So your family's been hoarding powerful weapons since the time of the Great War?" Blake asked with a sarcastic tone.

Winston flinched as he glare over his shoulder at Blake. "I suppose you could look at it that way... Another way you could look at is that the Schnee family has been keeping very powerful artifacts in a safe and secure area."

Blake scoffed. "Please. I don't trust the Military with super weapons, why would a private company with enough of a foot hold in each of the four kingdoms to take them over diplomatically in a night be any more of a worthy owner?" Blake demanded as they approached the steps leading to the main door.

"It's just as you said." Winston said as he pushed the door open. "Why would I need to use the weapons if I can just dominate them without them even knowing?"

"MASTER WINSTON!"

Winston and Blake turned their heads to the left and saw Sebastian sprint into view.

"Where have you been!?" He demanded. "One minute you were tearing the castle apart, the next I hear a wall fall over and your gone!"

"A wall fall over?" Blake asked confused.

"I jumped through a wall when I couldn't find a nearby door or window." Winston said flatly as he adjusted Ruby in his arms.

Sebastian took notice of the girl in Winston's arms and moved closer before removing his glove. He took his glasses from his nose and held them under her nose. After seeing the fog on the lenses he cleaned them then placed them back on his nose.

"Can you help her?" Blake asked as she starred at the tall man.

Sebastian kept his eyes focused on Ruby as he placed his glove into his right palm and quickly slapped Ruby across the face with it.

"COOKIES!" She shouted with a panicked cry as she tumbled out of Winston's arms.

"Ruby!" Blake shouted as she watched her leader slam face first into the marble floor.

"Thank you Sebastian." Winston said as he stepped over Ruby and started down the hall. "This way girls."

Helping Ruby to her feet was a task in and of itself, as she was still quite dazed from the gas and the slap. Once Blake had finally gotten Ruby moving, she had to wrap her arm around her neck to help support her. Eventually, with guidance and help from Sebastian, Blake and Ruby managed to find their way to Winston's study. The room was massive, with one large bay window on the far wall, and a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Bookcases line each wall from floor to ceiling, one ladder on each side with a track that wrapped around into a storage space at the end of the wall.

"About time." Winston grumbled as he shuffled some papers around. "Please, sit." Winston said as he guestured to the chairs before his desk. "Sebastian, you may leave us."

Sebastian bowed as he turned to exit the room. "Shall I have the maids prepare and refreshments sir?"

"No. I have urgent business to discuss with my leader." Winston said as he waved Sebastian away.

As Sebastian closed the door Winston turned to Ruby and Blake. There was a quiet pause as the two took their seats across from Winston.

"Now then, either of you care to tell me where my sister is?" Winston asked calmly.

"Your sister?" Blake asked with a confused tone.

"Yeah... She was with us at the store before I collapsed. I'm not sure what happened next." Ruby said as her brow furrowed.

"So Jean wasn't lying to me then." Winston said as he began to frown. "Where did she go Ruby?"

Ruby placed a hand on her temple as she tried to remember, her mind still hazy from the gas. "Last I saw her, Jean was taking her to the counter to buy her a new shirt. Then I told Yang that I heard some kind of hissing noise, and then everything went dark."

Winston's frown deepened. "Yang wasn't at the store when I got there."

Ruby looked up at Winston in confusion. "What do you mean? Yang was standing right next to me. She's way to overprotective of me to leave my side if I faint."

Winston clenched his fist as his frown began to change into a glare. "When Jaune and I arrived at the store, the only people inside were the employee's, Nora, Jean, and you. Yang wasn't their, my sister neither."

"Then where did she go?" Ruby asked as Blake began to shiver slightly.

"I don't know." Winston growled as he crushed the pen he was holding in his hand. Blake watched as the black ink dripped down onto the desk before freezing solid.

"Maybe Yang woke early and took Weiss to safety?" Blake offered, hoping to calm Winston as she realized that he was causing the temperature to drop.

"Why would Yang need to wake up? I'm the one who fainted." Ruby said as she turned to look at Blake.

"You must have been the first one affected then." Winston said. "With your heightened senses I suppose it would make sense that it would affect you the fastest."

"What affected me?" Ruby asked as she failed to notice the mist leaving her mouth in place of her breath.

"Gas. Someone released a knockout gas into the vents at the store. You and everyone inside was knocked unconscious in minutes." Winston said as he rose to his feet and placed Myrtenaster and Destiny on his desk.

"We were attacked? But by who?" Ruby asked.

"I think that I know exactly who. Or at least I know WHAT they were." Winston growled as he turned to the window.

"Who?" Ruby asked.

"Slavers." Blake spat. "How could I have forgotten? Atlas never gave Faunus any rights, our revolution never made it up here. Any Faunus who came up here was either executed or capture and forced into literal slavery!" Blake shouted as she glared at Winston. "It's how his family business can get away with what they do to our kind!"

"We're not going to get into this right now." Winston growled as frost began to creep up the edges of the window.

"You think that Weiss and Yang were captured by slavers?!" Ruby shouted as she leapt to her feet. "That's impossible!"

Winston was about to respond when the scroll on his desk began to ring. He glanced down at before letting out a deep sigh and pressing the answer button.

"Good to hear from you my King." Winston said as he placed on a VERY false smile.

"WINSTON! Good to hear from YOU lad! I haven't seen you in months! Not since you left for Vale." The voice bellowed over the speaker.

"I would have visited sooner sire, but I'm afraid I've had my hands full since I returned. Running the SDC can be quite taxing." He said with a fake happiness.

"Nonsense! I'll hear none of it! We're to be relatives soon, no excuse for you after that. I trust you shall attend the wedding?" The King asked.

"Of course Sire, someone needs to give the bride away while my father rots in prison." Winston said with a scowl.

"He was a foolhardy man Winston. You did the country a great service by imprisoning him." The king replied. "But that's enough of that unpleasantness. I've been told that you will be attending the auction this weekend before the wedding, yes?"

Winston froze and starred down at the scroll. He paused for a moment then answered. "I have been toying with the idea, yes. Why? It's not often that the royal family will attend an auction. Usually you simply take the ones you want and leave the rest for us to fight over."

"Have you not heard of the line up?" The King asked.

"What line up?" Winston questioned.

"Oh a great many big catches this time around. A tiger from the slums of Vacuo, a Lion from Menagerie, a White Wolf from Atlas, and a Dragon from Vale! It's the most incredible line up I've seen since I was a boy! A Mythological class! I must go now my boy, but I hope that I will see you there this weekend."

The line went dead as the three people in the room stared at the device. Ruby's eyes were wide with horror over what she had heard, while Blake looked furious. She turned to shout at Winston before she stopped completely. Ruby followed her shocked gaze and noticed Winston glaring down at his desk, his hands clenched into fists that were shaking violently. He was growling as his hands began to glow.

Without warning, Winston spun around and glared out his window at the small mansion on the other side of the city. As he shouted, Ice and freezing cold air burst from his spot before encasing the entire room and shattering the windows. Ruby and Blake could hear only one thing shouted over the roaring wind he was creating in his rage.

 **"SILAS!"**

* * *

 **This chapter took way too damn long to complete. I intended to have this done over a month ago, but I had run out of ideas. I took some time off to watch some shows and read some books, and now I have a fresh set of Ideas to use.**

 **On a different note, Have you ever created something you thought was original, then it turns out that you inadvertently copied it from someone else? As fate would have it, Winston, who I thought was original, actually bears shocking resemblance to 'Eis', a gender bent Weiss created by 'Reveriesky' on Deviantart.**

 **In that same thought, he also created Jean and Pyrrhus. And here I thought I was being different. Take a look at his Deviantart page and you'll see it. Only difference is my Jean has short-shorts, and my Pyrrhus has a red overcoat, rather than a red cape.**

 **As always, leave a review if you like the story, or if you didn't like it. If you do check out the person on Deviantart, know that any similarities between their characters and my own, are completely coincidental.**


	12. Fore!

**No one voted.**

 **Coco - Female: 9 - Male: 2**

 **Yatsuhashi - Female: 6 - Male: 2**

 **Fox - Female: 4 - Male: 9**

 **Just cast your votes in a review, as I can't seem to get the Poll's on my profile to work properly.**

 **My Idea to be revealed later: 2**

 **Female Maidens and Male Knights: 1**

 **It has been a looooong fucking time since I last updated these stories. I truly hate writers block. I took a break from writing and started on the path to get my life together. Then I tripped... Like a-lot. On the plus side, got a new job, and I finally got around to reading the James Patterson 'Witch and Wizard' that I started back in Highschool.**

 **It was an OK book.**

 **BUT! Now I'm back, and for better or worse, I'm going to finish this damn story! Sick of starting these fanfiction's with these grandiose ideas, then abandoning it halfway through because I ran out of things to cram into the middle of the story. Not this time, no sir! I like this story too much to just drop it because I got lazy! That being said, I am going to place several of my other stories on Hiatus for the time being. Not really that great of a writer to being with, but I know that I wont be able to finish them while this one is still open.**

 **'Raised By Grimm' - Hiatus, possible rewrite.**

 **'Lost on Remnant' - Hiatus.**

 **'Five Months Later' - Hiatus.**

 **Also, since I last updated this story, it has reached over 130 follows! And we're only 3 fav's away from 100! This has been the most popular story that I've written so far, and I'm ashamed to say I don't feel I have done my best work on it.**

 **Now then, to close this A/N out, I will say that despite Volume 4 having released, It will not affect my plans for this story. I may take some of the new Grimm for the fillers, or for the battles, but the overall of Volume 4 contrasts with my plans for the ending. That is not to say the it will end with Volume 3 though, only that V4 will not be affecting this story.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of it's affiliated characters.**

* * *

 **Silas's Office**

Silas was sitting at his desk calmly scribbling down words on the sheet of paper before him. His office was a circular room, with one lard bay window behind his desk, and a door to the right. He had several shelves and a set of furniture in front of his desk, arranged with one coffee table in the center, and a couch on either side. Silas frowned as he signed his name on the bottom left and slammed a stamp down on the top right.

"That should take care of the food shipments to Vyguarde." He said with a sigh as he placed the paper on the stack beside him. "Now whats next?"

Silas turned to grab the next document as his phone began to ring. He glanced down at the caller ID and smiled. He placed the paper back down on the stack and straightened his hair before he answered. A large projection appeared from the desk revealing the face of the King of Atlas.

"Silas! Good to see I could reach you! I wanted to speak to you about the line up for this years auction." He said with a toothy grin.

Silas nodded. "Of course Sire, but I must say before, none of the Faunus are for sale before the show starts. Can't have someone trying to take the Mythological class before the show. It's our headliner."

The King frowned. "Are you sure lad? I can assure you a large some of money in return for her." He pressed.

Silas shook his head and crossed his arms. "I'm afraid not sire. You'll just have to attend the auction with all the other buyers."

The King grumbled something under his breath, causing Silas to smile. "Be realistic sire, who could ever hope to out bid you?" He asked with a sly grin.

This caused the King to frown more. "Winston Schnee could easily outbid me."

Silas gave him a reassuring grin. "Not to worry sire, I have invited him, as per policy, though I doubt he'll attend. I was careful not to tell him the line up." He replied as he grabbed a pen and the sheet of paper he had been reaching for.

The King scoffed. "Bah, I wish I'd have known that."

Silas raised an eyebrow as he looked across at the hologram. "What do you mean sire?" He asked cautiously.

"I just got off the phone with Winston a few minutes ago. I told him all about the Lion and the Dragon."

Silas twitched as he glanced down at his paper. After a moment he calmly placed his pen on his desk and turned to the King. "How did he react to this news?" He asked with a false smile.

The King's hologram flickered as Silas noticed storm clouds appearing over the kingdom. "Seems to be a spot of bad weather..." The King said before turning back to Silas. "He seemed interested when I spoke with him. Didn't use the video for some reason. I imagine he was in a meeting at the time."

"He seemed interested..." Silas repeated as he slid the sheet of paper he had been planing to fill out back to the pile and placed the pen atop it. His had was twitching as he looked back to the King with a smile. "Well then sire, if the royalty and the Schnee's will be attending I had better go and prepare some extras for the event." He said with a nervous smile.

The King nodded. "This is set to be one of the most profitable auction's that we've had yet!"

Silas turned to his window and saw the clouds spreading farther across the kingdom. "And it's all thanks to your protecting the slave traders when they return to the kingdom. If not for the royal decree, then the councils from the other three kingdoms could send their military to retrieve their Faunus."

The King snorted as he turned to look at something on his end. "As if any of them could stand up to my military. It dwarfs the power it had years ago while it was still Mantle."

Silas nodded his head in agreement before waving goodbye and ending the call. He quickly grabbed his scroll from his pocket and began to dial the numbers for the Boss that was holding Yang and Weiss. He brought his scroll to his ear and waited a moment before he heard the voice on the other end.

"Hello?" The voice snapped as he answered the phone.

"Watch your tone with me you fool!" Silas snapped back before he turned to the window and saw a white dot in the clouds moving towards his mansion. "I want all the Faunus moved to the auction house now! I don't care how, just get it done!" He shouted before he hung up his scroll and ran across the room to his fireplace. He reached up and grabbed a golf club from above it and jumped quickly to his couch and grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket before starting to polish the head.

A few moments passed before there was a thunderous bang as the glass of his window exploded inward and scattered across the room. Silas's Aura protected him from the shards as they bounced harmlessly off his coat.

 **"SILAS!"** A voice shouted as Winston flew through the window and crashed down onto his desk, his wings vanishing as he came to a stop.

Silas turned with an amused smile. "Ah Winston, to what do I own the honor of this visit? I usually have to visit you just to see you." He asked, oil dripping from every word.

Winston wasted no time as he shot across the room and grabbed Silas by the throat and hauled the shorted man into the air. He drew back with his fist and hit Silas as hard as he could, causing him to fall back over the couch with a loud thud.

Silas groaned as he sat forward and held his jaw with his left hand. "Ah, it's to be one of those visit's is it? I've offended you in some way have I?" He asked sarcastically as he climbed to his feet and wobbled slightly. "I know, I forgot to call the kitchen and have them prepare the tea!" He said as he tapped his forehead with his index finger. "I'll call them right now." He said as he turned to grab his scroll.

Winston shot his hand out quickly, causing a ice shard to be thrown through the air and impale the scroll on the desk.

Silas's hand twitched as he turned back to Winston with a frown. "Now why'd you do that? Now I can't call my servants in here to fix us some tea."

Winston growled as he swung Destiny at Silas's arm, only for it to be parried away by the bar of the golf club.

"Come now Winston, your being quite aggressive don't you think?" Silas said quickly as he hopped back onto the coffee table and swung the golf club at Winston.

Winston brought Destiny up and swatted the club away before swinging his arm towards Silas's feet. As his hand swept past Silas's feet a thin layer of ice froze him on the spot. Silas raised a brow as he looked at his feet, then to Winston's hand. He had a layer of frost running up both arms that was slowly creeping across his torso.

 **"Maybe now you'll hold still!"** Winston roared as he thrust Destiny towards Silas's abdomen.

*Bang*

Destiny's blade was thrown off course as a pellet ricocheted off the steel. Winston stared down at the golf club in shock as the top of the handle slid shut, concealing the barrel of a gun.

"Surprised?" Silas asked with a smug smirk on his face. "You really shouldn't be." He said as he slammed the head of the club down on the ice around his feet, shattering it and causing it to return to it's dust form. "Of course, I supposed it's to be expected. I never graduated the top of my class, I didn't have The Black Knight as my partner, never won any tournaments, even my Semblance is nothing special." He continued as he stepped down from the table, a slight miscalculation on his part, as Winston now had the height advantage. "But, I am still a graduate of Atlas Academy."

As Silas finished speaking he swung his club upwards and caught Winston by the jaw, causing the larger boy to stumble backwards and slam into the wall. Silas quickly followed by shifting the head of the club up the pole and opening the gun barrel.

"Now it becomes a game of survival Winnie. Let's see if Beacon can train you to be even half as good as Atlas." He mocked as he began to fire the gun rapidly, hitting Winston in the torso repeatedly. He fired the gun for several seconds until the clip ran dry before lowering the barrel and shifting it back into a club and placing the head on the floor. He leaned forward on the club with a smirk as he waited for the cloud of dust to dissipate.

The cloud of debris gradually vanished revealing the form of Winston standing against the wall. His jacket was torn and burnt, but his body remained unharmed, save a small trickle of blood flowing from his mouth. He wore his usual scowl as he glared at Silas.

Silas's smirk never left his face as he watched Winston. "So, now that we've gotten the first parlay out of the way, perhaps you can tell me why your here?" Silas asked in a sickly sweet tone.

Winston growled as he turned and spit the blood out of his mouth. "You know exactly why I'm here." Winston stated as he cracked his knuckles. "I'll only ask once."

"I do believe that we are beyond the asking phase of this conversation Winston." Silas interrupted as he waved his his hand at the wreckage that was once his office.

"Where. Is. My. Sister." He ground out, have had quite enough of Silas's comical sarcasm.

Silas raised a brow as he looked at Winston. "Your sister?" He asked. "I don't have the faintest Idea where Winter is. I would imagine she is with her husband."

A wave of Ice spires erupted from the floor near Silas as he jumped back onto his desk.

 **"WHERE IS WEISS!"** Winston roared as Glyphs began to appear in the room around him.

Silas continued his games as he crouched on his desk. "Who's Weiss? I thought you only had one sister." Silas said as he feigned ignorance. Winston began to shake as Silas placed a hand on his chin and acted as though he was deep in though. After a moment his face changed as he snapped his fingers. "Ah! Weiss, that's right. The little bastard born when your whore mother laid with a Faunus."

 ***KA-THOOM***

There was a massive explosion as the front of Silas's house exploded outwards onto the lawn ahead of it. Inside the office Winston was standing with Destiny out stretched. The blade was glowing brightly as the chamber spun rapidly, creating a rainbow effect around the room. The room and the outside of the house were covered in a thick layer of ice that stretched from Winston's form, out half way into the lawn. There was a crowd gathering on the sidewalk below that Winston could see as he scanned the ice for Silas's frozen corpse.

"Oh, did the truth hurt?" A voice asked from behind Winston.

Reacting quickly, Winston spun around and slammed Destiny's blade into the wall. He panted heavily as he scanned the room for the voice that had just scarred him senseless. Suddenly a sharp pain exploded outward from his left side as he was thrown into the wall by a hit from Silas's club. He connected with the ice wall with a loud thud before crumbing to the floor.

"I must confess Winnie. I've always hated you Schnee's." Silas said as he slowly walked towards Winston, tapping his club on the ground with every step. "Your father had such an iron clad grip on the kingdoms trade system that my father worked himself into an early grave just trying to negotiate better prices for shipping." He paused as he saw a chunk of ice jutting up from the floor by his foot. "Your perfect sister Winter... What a cunt. Never even bothered to give me the time of day while we were in school." He continued as he lined his club's head up with the ice. "Constantly made a fool of me in combat class simply because I couldn't fight her speed with those damn swords." He growled as he swung the club forward, hitting the ice chunk.

The chunk of ice zipped through the air and connected with Winston's head, knocking his head back into the wall and cracking his aura shield.

"Then we have you. The heir to the company. You were raised to be the perfect copy of your father. Arrogant, petty, cold. And you did not disappoint, no you took control of his company from him by force, then, you had him thrown in jail! I'll admit I applauded you on that as I was happy to see that bastard behind bars." Silas said as he slowly came to a stop before Winston. "I thought for a while I could befriend you and boost my companies position in the world. Then you started to make changes." He spat as he kicked Winston in the side. "You improved the living conditions for the Faunus in the mines, you left Atlas for Vale and refused to talk to the press about anything. I had to talk to your board members to get any information on you. Imagine my surprise when I find out that you were living happily with two Faunus girls down in Vale. Going on adventures and fighting the White Fang." Silas hissed.

"You didn't care about your company at all! You were prepared to piss away everything your family had worked for, just so that you could rebel against your dear old dad."

"W-what does this have t-to do with you?" Winston ground out as he tried to find his voice, fighting against the pain in his side.

"Don't you get it you imbecile! The SDC 'IS' the Atlesian economy! If your company goes under, then Atlas loses everything. No more robots to guard shipments, no more freighters to transport our goods!" He barked as he kicked Winston again. "You were prepared to sit by and watch Atlas fall. I couldn't sit by and watch as the cold and calculating monster I'd seen take his father's company became some softy that would rather live happily with nothing, than control the world from his seat of power. Then I discovered that the little sister that you and Winter were so carefully hiding was a Faunus? And a very rare breed at that." Silas said as he knelt down and grabbed a fistful of Winston's hair before dragging him up to meet his eyes. "I figured that if I helped to cleanse the filth from your family, then you'd be able to focus more on your company, and less on keeping her from the spot light."

Silas dropped Winston's head and let it crash against the floor as he stood back to full height. "But, I see now that you've been corrupted by your time in Vale. You actually seem to treat those creature's on your team as equals. So now, I'll just have to remove you from the equation." He continued as he lined up his club with the side of Winston's head. "But don't worry, your little black sheep is okay. Can't have one of my headliners being sold as damaged goods now can I. I'll be sure she goes to a good home. One with plenty of adults and dogs to keep her company as she grows older." He said with a sickening grin.

"Y-YOU BAS-" Winston started as Silas slammed the head of the club into his head, knocking him unconscious. Silas turned as he heard a knock at the door and called for his butler to enter.

"See to it that the construction crew's are hired post haste. I want this house fixed before the winter storms start. Oh, and send one of the slave masters to collect that trash over there." He said as he guestured to Winston's fallen form. "I have special plans for that one."

* * *

 **Auction House Backstage**

"Move that cage over there!" The Boss shouted as he pointed to the wall beside the door. A group of men grabbed a cage with a dog Faunus inside and began to move it across the room. "My employer want's all the products moved here by tonight so they're ready for tomorrows auction!"

Yang watched with a scowl as she sat cross legged in her cage, her wing's bound and her hands cuffed to the floor. Weiss sat in a cage beside her cowering behind her hands as the various thugs and crooks walked past their cages. One in particular stopped in front of Weiss's cage and gave a low whistle as he looked at her.

"Not bad..." He said with a disgusting grin on his face as he looked Weiss up and down. "Too bad the other guys found you before me. I can think of all kinds of fun we could have had together."

Yang wanted to puke as she listened to the man speak. "She's like, eight you freak!" She snapped, causing the man to shrug.

"Gotta start sometime. Why not get a head start." He said with a creeping chuckle as he walked away from the cages.

Weiss whimpered in her cage as she shuffled back into the corner and brought her knee's to her chest. _'That man scares me...'_ She thought as she closed her eyes and leaned on the bars.

"Don't worry Weiss, if I know my sister, they're already on their way to save us!" Yang said confidently as she tried to comfort the young girl.

 _'I don't like it here... People keep thinking mean things and using words mommy told me not to say...'_ She thought as she glanced over to Yang. She had tears rolling down her cheeks as he face came into view. _'I want my big brother..._ _'_ The words came across like a whimper as Yang wished she could do more to comfort the girl.

"Don't worry, I've seen your brother fight. I'm sure he'll come to save you." She lied. Yang was still on the fence about Winston. She couldn't decide weather he cared more about his companies image, or about his families well being, though, since she wanted to escape her home Yang assumed that Winston was pretty overbearing.

 _'You don't believe that...'_ She thought as the tears continued to fall from her bright blue eyes.

"What?" Yang asked confused.

 _'You don't believe that big brother will come to help us... He may seem like a meanie, but he always protects me when I'm being picked on by other kids!'_ She thought as she looked out at the room full of cages. _'Everyone here is thinking about money and other bad things... None of them care what happens to us.'_

Yang frowned and looked out at the other cages. Sitting straight across from her was a larger cage with a lion Faunus, with several other cages beside him holding various common Faunus like dogs and house cats. She saw a tiger and reptilian Faunus in separate cages to her left and a large curtain to the right that lead out onto the stage. There was one cage directly atop her own, but as far as she could tell it was vacant.

"That's not necessarily true." Yang said. "They need to keep us safe and well fed until the auction." She tried as she gave Weiss a reassuring smile. "I'm sure my team and team JNPR will save us. I'm sure that Jean has the city guards looking all over for us."

Weiss frowned and lowered her head into her legs as she continued to cry.

'I wish there was something I could say to help her through this...' Yang thought sadly. 'She's not a huntress, she's a little girl. She must be terrified.'

Yang looked over to Weiss and began to speak. "Hey Weiss, do-" But she was cut off as a baton collided with her cage wall.

"QUIET IN THERE!" The man shouted as he waved the men following him over. He reached up and opened the cage above Yang. The door opened with a terrible squeal as the rusty hinges moved for what may have been the first time in years. "Throw him in here." He said as the two men dragged the beaten form over to the cage.

As the body was dragged into the light, Yang was able to see who it was they were dragging. "Winston!?" She shouted with a shocked tone. "What happened to you?!" She cried as he slowly raised his head to meet her eyes. His eyes shifted to the side where he saw his little sister staring at his beaten and bloodied form in horror. His coat was gone, leaving him in only his undershirt, the likes of which had been slashed apart in several places. His pants were covered in dirt and blood, with rips and tears trailing each leg, and he was missing his left shoe. His hair had become upbraided and was now falling in his face as he glared over at the man holding his cell door open.

The Two men holding him tossed him into the cage with great force, causing him to collide with the roof, then the back of the cage. The man holding the door slammed it shut and locked it before he turned and left the area, his two goons in tow.

"Winston! Oh my god are you okay!?" Yang asked with fear as she tried to see him in his cage.

There was a ragged coughing from above them as Winston tried to respond. "A-a little w-worse for w-w-ware." He ground out through ragged breaths. "I sh-should be f-fine in a bit."

Weiss looked shocked that her brother had been beaten so badly, while Yang was shocked that he had come for her at all. She was about to speak when she was cut off by ragged laugh from above.

"What's so funny?" Yang asked with mild irritation.

Winston hacked as he stopped laughing. "I just r-realized something." He said as he looked at his hands. "Those idiots forgot to take m-my gloves..."

* * *

 **So, as some of you can see, I'm back. How often these updates will come however is indeterminable. On the plus side, the next chapter will be the big climax for the filler arc, then we get to transition into volume 2. I've been wanting to finish the filler for a while so I could move onto V2.**

 **This was a shorter chapter than I wanted it to be, but I felt that I should stop it before the auction starts, and devote a whole chapter to that. I can't say for sure when you can expect the next chapter, but look for it sometime late December, early January.**

 **Remember, Polls are still open for the CFVY genders and the Maiden idea.**

 **Leave me a review telling me what you did and didn't like about the chapter, and follow the story to be notified when I update.**


	13. That Got Messy

**No one voted.**

 **Coco - Female: 9 - Male: 2**

 **Yatsuhashi - Female: 6 - Male: 2**

 **Fox - Female: 4 - Male: 9**

 **Just cast your votes in a review, as I can't seem to get the Poll's on my profile to work properly.**

 **My Idea to be revealed later: 2**

 **Female Maidens and Male Knights: 1**

 **Well aren't I an ass. I promise this chapter for late 2016 early 2017, and it doesn't come until early April. I don't even have a valid excuse! I'm just really lazy and kept putting it off.**

 **The polls will remain open until the end of the next chapter.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of it's affiliated characters.**

* * *

 **Jaune's Room**

Leo stood before a table with papers and photo's scattered across it in a state of utter chaos, his red eyes scanning carefully across each photo that showed the layout of Mountain Glenn's old mines.

"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be seeing here." He said as he tilted his head up to look at Jaune on the other side of the table.

Jaune sighed and Winter allowed her head to fall into her hands. "This is the mines under the old city." Jaune said as he pointed at the pile of photo's to his left. "And these are files from the company that built Beacon." He said as he pointed to the pile to his right.

Leo turned to the pile of papers and grabbed the topmost sheet before raising it to his face and scanning across the paper for a minute. He turned to the next paper and did the same before placing them both on the table before him and looking up to Jaune again.

"I think I'm seeing what you guys are talking about." He said in a serious tone as he leaned against the table.

Jaune and Winter both returned his serious stare before motioning for him to continue with his thought.

Leo pointed a finger at a diagram of Beacon's layout on the floor with all of it's classrooms. "Ozpin lied to me! He said I was going to get a full sized classroom like Port and Oobleck, but this shows that my classroom is 23% smaller than theirs!" He shouted as he gave them an angry look. "And this!" He shouted as he pointed at the other paper. "They've been cutting corners in the restoration of the east wing! The work is shoddy and will only last the school for about another decade before it fails and could hurt the students!"

...

...

...

There was a tense silence as Winter and Jaune gave Leo and exasperated glare, Winter's eye twitching with annoyance.

"That's not the issue Leo." Jaune said flatly as he took a photo from the pile for Mt. Glenn. "This is the issue." Jaune placed the photo of the inside of the mountain where you could just make out an ancient scaffolding raising up to the top of the mountain.

Leo turned and grabbed the photo. "Old rotting wood?" He asked.

Winter twitched angrily at how dense her old teammate was being.

"No Leo, that wood may be old and rotting, but the issue is where it is set up." Jaune said as he placed another photo and handed it to Leo. "These were built under Mountain Glenn centuries before any kingdom tried to build there. These are dated to be well over three thousand years old."

Leo examined the photo of the scaffolds as he spoke. "That's not possible at all. No wood can last even close to that long without regular maintenance, even then, three thousand years is ridiculously generous to say."

Winter spoke up, feeling relieved that Leo had finally begun to catch on to the mood of the room. "They are heavily infused with Gold Dust."

Leo's head snapped over to Winter with the best look of shock his armored face could muster. "Gold Dust!? The regenerative dust that costs more than Ironwoods yearly salary to mine and refine, not to mention how ludicrously rare it is?!"

Winter frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I think I know what I'm talking about. I am a Schnee you know, Dust is kind of our thing."

"Then you were the one that found this?" Leo asked as he placed the photo on the table and began to sift through the pile of photo's.

"No. Jaune found it while he was exploring last year. I was busy here in Atlas. We've been working on a project with Dr. Polendina that has been yielding promising results." Winter said as she guestured to Jaune.

"So that old hack is still alive, huh." Leo grumbled as he continued to search through the photos. Dr. Polendina had been heavily involved in Leo's own creation, so the man's memory did not bring out happy feelings.

Winter frowned. "Yes... Dr. Polendina is still alive. I'm rather curious as to how you know who he is." She said as she gave him a curious look.

Leo continued to look at the photo's as he responded. "My dad's the General. I've met the 'good Dr.' before and I wasn't impressed."

As he continued to move photos to the side as he searched, he paused as he came across the image of a large open cavern at the top of the scaffolding with an odd rock formation in the center. "Hey Jaune, what's this thing here, in the middle." He asked as he handed Jaune the photo.

Jaune took the photo and examined it with the same frown he had when he took the photo. At first look it appeared to be a massive stalactite that supported the center of the cave, until you followed it to the bottom and it seemed to curl around on the floor like a snake. "I'm not sure. I found it and moved to check it out before a swarm of Grimm appeared on the other side of the cave and forced me to retreat."

"A few Grimm chased you away?" Leo asked with disbelief.

Jaune shook his head. "I didn't want to risk the roof caving in. The Grimm that showed up were all too big to follow me back down the shaft so I decided to cut my losses and get out with the photo's I'd taken." Jaune finished as he placed the photo back down on the table.

"It almost looks like a tail." Leo said with a frown. "Perhaps a fossil that was trapped in the mountain?" Leo proposed as he looked over to Jaune.

He shrugged and picked up another photo before turning it towards Leo. "I suppose it's possible. I found this place while I was poking around in the old city based on a lead one of my White Fang contacts leaked to me." He said as he pulled a map out from under the table. He rolled it out and revealed it to be a map of Mountain Glenn. "The entrance to the underground city is here, by the gas station." He said as he pointed to the top right corner of the map.

Leo looked over the layout of the city before looking to the photo Jaune had handed him with an image of the gas station. "Mountain Glenn... Never been there myself, I was with Diamond in Mistral when the city fell." Leo said as he placed the photo over the spot on the map that Jaune had pointed to. "By the time we got back the city was lost and the council was running damage control."

Winter shuddered. "I was there. I was still just a cadet at the time, and Ironwood was visiting vale when it started. Every Hunter and Huntress in the kingdom rushed to defend the city. By the time any of them had arrived the Grimm had already broken through the wall and were in the streets." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she recalled the fall of the city. "It was a massacre. There were hardly any Hunters living in the city to defend it, and the few that did were overwhelmed long before we arrived. The Grimm maimed and killed anyone they could find. The fact that they discovered the caverns when they did was the only miracle of that day."

Leo grunted and moved to the stack of papers concerning Beacon. "Hell of a miracle that turned out to be. All it did was delay their doom a little. The council should have just cut their losses and moved them back into Vale."

Jaune nodded and moved to help Leo search. "Yes well, hindsight is twenty-twenty. Nothing we can do about Glenn now, only use it as a haunting example of how dangerous it can be to be careless in expansion."

"Safer to just not expand." Leo said as he grabbed a sheet of paper and read through the specs of Beacon Cliff where the students were launched into the Emerald Forrest. "So what am I looking for in this pile? More ancient wood hidden in the clock tower?" He asked sarcastically.

"No... It's here somewhere..." Jaune said as he moved papers aside in his search.

Leo turned to Winter. "What are you guys so worried about? So some scaffolds from the ancient times has appeared near a long dead settlement, we're finding new ruins every month. The Grimm are kind enough to provide us with more each year."

Winter gave Leo a glare. "I wouldn't have gone out of my way to find you if it was something so trivial. Jaune found something odd while he was researching Beacon."

Leo deadpanned. "You ever actually been to Beacon? Everything there is odd! The closest they come to normal is Professor Peach, and I'm not even sure she really exists!" Leo shouted.

Winter stomped her foot on the floor and pointed a finger at Leo. "Jaune thought this was worth our time, so I'm going to trust him on it! He is our leader after all."

"Ex-leader." Leo added quickly. "He stopped being the leader after we split up and Diamond died."

Before the argument could continue any further, Jaune jumped between the two and held up two sheets to Leo's face. "I found them! Look her at these sheets of paper." He said as he shoved them into Leo's hands. "They show that Beacon was built by three different construction firms!"

Leo raised the documents to his face and scanned over them. Sure enough Jaune was right, Beacon was a joint project. "Alright... So whats so odd about this? There are plenty of buildings across the planet that are made by joint firms." Leo asked as he looked back over the papers.

"Whats weird is the firms that they used. One firm was a well known firm that was endorsed by the Warrior King from Vale, another was used later to build the CCT when it was invented." Jaune said as he moved back to the table.

"Still not seeing the weird part Jaune." Leo said as he lowered the papers from his face.

"It's the third firm that makes it odd. They are a nameless firm, that was created shortly before Beacon hired them to build Ozpin's office in the top of the CCT, then disbanded immediately after they were done. During this time, the CCT was completely off limits to anyone but the headmaster, and the crew."

Leo looked down at a few of the other papers and saw the oddity that Jaune had mentioned. "Hmm... Alright, I'll admit that is rather odd. Still doesn't seem like something you'd need to call a meeting over."

"Take a look at the budget for the firm. I see about three too many zero's for it to be a simple office job." Jaune said as he handed Leo a copy of the pay sheets.

Leo's eyes widened at the amount on the sheet and moved back to examine the layout of Beacon he'd had earlier. "That's way too much to be an office. Even if they shut the CCT down for a week or so it's still almost twenty times that. They could afford to build an entire new wing with that kind of funding." He said in a state of shock as he tried to find anywhere the funds could have gone on the campus.

"That's what we're talking about." Jaune said as he motioned for Winter to lean closer as he pointed to the schools layout. "They were hired to build the office here, at the CCT. But the price for their work, plus the amount of time they took to build the office is significantly larger than what they should be. The office should have taken a week to build, a month at the most. They had the CCT shut down to visitors and spent four months on this project."

Leo and Winter scanned over the diagram carefully as they tried to find anything that could explain the missing funds. "This is rather concerning..." Leo said as he looked up at Jaune. "What do you guys think Oz-"

 ***BANG BANG BANG***

Leo was cut off suddenly as a loud banging sounded from the door, causing the three hunters to turn to the door.

Jaune frowned. "Who is it?" He called as he started towards the door.

"It's me!" A voice called from the other side.

"We're in the middle of something Jean, what do you need." Jaune asked as he reached the door. He glanced behind him and saw Winter scrambling to hide the papers.

"We found out where Yang and Weiss are!" Jean shouted.

Winter paused and turned to the door with a raised brow. "What do you mean found Weiss? She should be with Winston at home." She called as she placed the papers on the table and moved towards the door.

"No! Weiss and Yang we're kidnapped in the city earlier today!" Jean shouted as she tried to jiggle the door handle open.

"WHAT?!" The three inside the room yelled as Jaune moved to open the door, tearing it from it's hinges as he did. "What do you mean they were kidnapped!?" He yelled as he grabbed Jean by the shoulders.

"Someone attacked us while we were at Vetements! When we woke up Yang and Weiss were gone!" Jean said.

"Who in their right minds would attack the Princess in broad daylight?" Leo asked as he peered over Winter to look down at Jean.

"We don't know who did it, we only know what Blake and Ruby told us! They said that Winston got a call from father, where he spoke to Winston about the upcoming auction. Then he mentioned Yang and Weiss, and Winston yelled the name Silas before he jumped out a window!" She shouted as she tried to pull free from Jaune's grip.

"Silas!?" Winter shouted. "That little troll who runs the spice company in the west part of the kingdom?"

Leo turned to her. "You know this Silas?" He asked.

She nodded. "We all do. He went to school with us back in the academy." She said with an annoyed tone.

Jaune turned to Winter with a raised brow. "We did?" He asked.

"Yes. I'm not surprised you guys don't remember him, he was very forgettable. He was part of the team that nearly died during initiation."

 ***CLANG***

The three turned to look at Leo, who had just slapped a hand over his face. "Gods I remember him now. He was that weird guy who was super proud of his golf club weapon." He sighed as he let his hand fall back to his side. "Didn't he hit on you one time?" He asked as he looked to Winter.

"Yes."

"Uh..." Jean mumbled as she looked up at the three. "Shouldn't we go get the girls?" She asked, now unsure if it was a good idea to notify the three.

Jaune nodded to his sister. "Jean's right, we can reminisce later, the kids are in trouble. Lead the way."

* * *

 **Throne Room**

Pyrrhus and Ren stood beside the entrance to the room chatting quietly while Nora and Ruby were trying to help Blake figure out where the 'Auction House' may be. They were having considerable trouble, as the King refused to help them find it, and none of the other nobles seemed willing to go against the Kings decision.

"It might be here." Nora said as she pointed to the large dome like structure at the north end of the city. "It would be big enough to house all the slaves and everyone who attended."

Blake shook her head. "No, they'd be more discrete with a slave auction. If it was going to be a big event then it would have been advertised around the city."

"Maybe the slums?" Ruby offered as she pointed to the far corner of the map.

Blake shook her head again. "The King and his nobles would never been caught dead in the slums." She said as she took a pen and circled the center of the city. "This is where they were taken, and this is the area we can assume they'd hold the auction." She finished as she drew a box around the residential district.

Ruby frowned. "The King made it sound like it was going to be a big event."

"Maybe compared to the usual, but I still doubt it would warrant use of a stadium. Slavery may not be illegal in Atlas, but it is still frowned upon. The King knows that his support with the people is well bellow his predecessor, so he'll try to be discrete."

"Why would he care if his support falls? He's not elected to rule like the Council back in Vale, he is given it by birth." Nora asked.

"He may be born into power, but if the people revolt against him, then he loses his power." Ren said as he turned to Nora. "If the people refuse to follow him, then he is nothing more than a man in fancy clothes."

"And a-lot of money." Pyrrhus added.

"Focus guys! We don't have long until the Auction. The King said it would be tomorrow before the wedding. We need to rescue them before they can be sold." Blake snapped as she tried to get everyone back on track.

"We don't have the time or the authority to search the whole kingdom. Even if Jean goes with us she has said that she can't just force the people to let her search their homes." Pyrrhus said as he knelt down by the map.

"We could persuade them?" Nora suggested as she lifted Magnhild.

"Nora..." Ren said as he placed a hand on the hammer and lowered it back down. "We can't just go on a rampage and attack people until someone tells us what we want to know."

"But Winston did it!" She protested as she recalled Blake and Ruby's description of what their teammate had done once he talked with the King.

"Winston trashed his own property. It's not the same thing when foreigners are running around the city breaking things." Pyrrhus stated.

Nora pouted and placed Magnhild on her back and turned to Blake. "If we can't force people to tell us, then how are we going to find them?"

"I believe I can help with that." Jaune said as he walked into the throne room with Leo, Winter and Jean in tow. "We know who Silas is, and I know exactly where his auction house is."

"You do!?" Ruby shouted as she sped over to Jaune and grabbed him by the collar. "Where is it!?" She asked excitedly.

"Ruby!" Blake shouted as she ran over and grabbed Ruby by the cloak. "Don't just jump on the prince!"

Once Ruby was off Jaune reached down and straightened his shirt. "As I was saying, I know where the auction house is. Silas has likely been taken care of by now if Winston went after him, but I don't know if Winston knows were the auction house is. So while he tries to explain first degree murder to the police, we'll go and save his sister and your friend."

Pyrrhus paused and turned to Jaune with a skeptical look on his face. "This seems overly convenient." Pyrrhus said as he crossed his arms.

Jean turned to her partner with a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"It just seems a little too convenient that your brother just happens to know exactly where to find the auction house. Even going past that there's still the issue that we know the Schnee's don't like Faunus, so why is Winter so willing to break into an auction house to help set them free?" He asked as he narrowed his eyes.

Blake paused then turned to the new arrivals with a matching stare of suspicion.

"I wish to retrieve my sister. The rest of the Faunus don't concern me." She stated as she crossed her arms and returned their glare.

"Do you want to save her because she's your sister? Or so that word never gets out that the third Schnee child is a Faunus." Blake asked with a hint of venom in her tone.

Winter scowled. "Both. She's my only sister, and I love her. At the same time, my father has dragged our name through the mud enough, and I'd rather it not get out that our mother had an affair with a Faunus. Even all of Winston's smooth talking can't save the name from that kind of scandal."

"That still doesn't explain why Jaune knows where the auction house is." Pyrrhus said as he looked over to the Prince.

Jaune shrugged. "I've been there before. I bought my first Faunus there when I was six."

...

...

...

There was an unhealthy silence that fell upon the group as they stared at Jaune with a mixture of shock and outrage. Blake looked like she was ready to explode before Ruby stepped in front of Jaune and looked up at him.

"You bought a Faunus?" She asked with a angry look on her face.

"Yep. She was cat base with black ears on top of her head. Name was Kali." He said without a hint of hesitation. Blake's eyes widened as she listened

"Why'd you buy her?" She asked with a mad frown.

"I wanted a pet. Father told me I could have whatever I wanted when I was young, so was the birthright of a King. I told him I wanted a pet, so he took me to the auction house and I bought a cat Faunus because I liked her eyes." He said.

"You wanted a pet?!" Blake shouted as she glared at him.

"Yes. The way my father described the Faunus to me I didn't see the difference between them and an animal until I was almost ten." He said as he turned to the presently empty throne. "He told me that I had to feed her, clean up after her and punish her when she acted out."

Blake twitched violently.

"Shortly after I got her she tried to escape, and I punished her. I left her in her kennel the whole night without supper. That was how my parents disciplined me when I was young, so I figured it was the worst punishment I could give her. Eventually she stopped trying to escape and revealed to me that she could actually talk. My dad told me they could mimic humans to trick children." He continued as he started towards the throne.

"I ignored his warnings and talked to her back. She told me about all the cool things she had seen before she was captured, and asked me to free her so she could escape. I refused, as my father told me she had cost a great deal and that she was trying to trick me." He came to a stop before the throne and reached behind it. "She continued to try to convince me to set her free for the next four months. Finally I agreed and removed her collar and opened my bedroom window. She escaped the estate and I didn't hear anything about her for many years."

Blake narrowed her eyes at Jaune. "What did you hear?" She asked.

"She wrote me a letter telling me about all the great things that had happened after I freed her. She managed to escape Atlas and make it back to her home in Menagerie. At the time of her writing the letter she had a husband and a daughter, and was living happily and was grateful that I showed her the kindness to free her." Jaune finished his story as he hauled a large Greatsword out and placed it on his back. "Don't assume that I just woke up one day and decided to go on a righteous quest to free all the Faunus in Atlas, that only happens in fairy tales. It still took many years of living around Faunus slaves to make me realize that they were more than animals."

Blake gave Jaune a curious look. "So you acknowledge its wrong, yet you do nothing to stop it?"

Jaune shook his head. "A Prince can only do so much while the King supports it. I wont overthrow my father. He may have numerous moral blind spots, but he's still my father." Jaune said as he returned to Winter's side. "Well, lets go get your sister back." He said as he, Winter and Leo walked past Pyrrhus and out of the throne room.

JNPR and RB looked at one another before quickly getting to their feet and chasing after the three elder Hunters.

* * *

 **Auction House Backstage**

Yang sighed in relief as she finally convinced Weiss to sleep with the knowledge that her brother was sitting on the top of her cage. Weiss was laying against the bars that separated her from Yang and was calmed as Yang ran a hand down her back. Yang could hear Winston mumbling to himself as he attempted to find a way to break out of his cage.

"Had any luck yet?" She whispered to him.

There was a rattling sound, followed by a sigh. "No, nothing yet. I can use the gloves to activate my Semblance, but without dust I can't do much other than try to shake the cage apart."

"Why not try to do that?" She asked.

"I'm saving that as a last resort. It will make far too much noise for me to do it three times, assuming it even works the first time. If Silas realizes that I can use my gloves to activate my semblance, he'll take them away without a second thought." Winston spat as the mans name exited his mouth. He couldn't believe he'd lost to him in direct combat.

"Winston... What are we gonna do?" He heard Yang ask. The usual bubbly tone nowhere to be found, replaced by one that dripped with fear. "I can't fight as long as this collar is on my neck, I don't know where Ember Celica is, and I don't know if Ruby is okay." She said sadly.

"Ruby was fine last time I saw her." He said as he reached out of his cage towards the wall.

Yang looked up at his arms as she watched him push against the wall. "When was the last time you saw Ruby? You mean when we were all grilling you and Winter about Weiss?" She asked.

Winston grunted as he pushed against the wall. "She was with me and Blake shortly before I went after Silas. She's probably still at my home with Blake."

Yang sighed with relief. "So they didn't kidnap her, that's good. Dad would kill me if he thought I let Ruby be sold into slavery."

There was a shrill screech as the metal on the bottom of Winston's cage scrapped across the top of Yang's. Yang scowled and covered her ears as Weiss's head snapped up form where she was sleeping.

Yang reached over and placed a hand between the girls shoulder blades and tried to calm her down. "Shh... Go back to sleep, Winston's just trying to get out of his cage." She said softly. Weiss gave her a tired glance before she curled back into a little ball in the corner. "Winston, what are you doing?!" Yang snapped as she looked over to the part of Winston's cage that was now hanging over the door to her cage.

He grunted and placed both of his feet against the wall that was now as far as his arms could reach. "I'm trying to knock the cage over." He said as he began to push against the wall, causing a terrible screeching noise to return, much to the dismay of the Faunus that littered the cages around them.

"Knock that off!" One of the guards shouted from a room on the other side of the building.

With one final grunt Winston managed to shove the cage off of its balance on the edge of Yang's cage, and cause it to crash down to the floor, causing a large amount of noise as the metal box bounced across the floor and ground to a stop in the middle of the isle.

"That's it!" The guards roared as the door to the guard shack burst open and the big men who had brought Winston in earlier stormed out of it into the holding area. They searched around the cages trying to see who had caused the noise before spotting Winston's cage laying on it's side in the middle of the hall.

"Over here guys!" The fat one called. "Looks like the Schnee was trying to make a break for it." He sneered as he waddled over to Winston's cage. Winston scowled as he turned and faced the man approaching him. "What did you hope to accomplish by knocking over your cage?" He mocked. "Those cages may be old, but they're the finest Atlesian steel. a five foot falls not gonna break them open."

The other men showed up on the other side of the cage and chuckled as they watched Winston glare at the man. The tall thin one glanced over at Yang and Weiss, who were cowering in the far corners of their cages. "Hey guys, I think he was trying to be near his bitch." He laughed as he knelt down and peered into Yang's cage. Yang shuddered in disgust as she watched his eyes roam over her body.

The bulky man laughed and peered into Winston's cage. "A filthy Faunus fucker is he?" He sneered as he turned to Weiss. "Like mother like son I guess."

"Hey! Get over here!" The thin man shouted as he reached into Yang's cage and grabbed her by her right wing. He yanked her towards the door of the cage, causing her to wince as her wing was twisted the wrong way. Once she was close enough he released her wing and grabbed her by the top of the head.

Mistake

"You the Schnee's bi-" Was all he got out before a fist knocked him across the isle and into the pile of cages on the other side. He roared in pain as he cupped his nose with both hands, barely blocking the blood from dripping onto his shirt. "THE BITCH BROKE MY NOSE!" He roared as he rolled onto his side.

The other two men turned to Yang and saw red eyes glaring at them as she patted down the spot the man had grabbed in her hair. The bulky man frowned. "Looks like this one needs to be taught some manners." He said as he pulled a remote out of his pocket and turned the dial up two notches. Yang's eyes went wide as she realized what was about to happen.

The man pressed the red button on the remote and Yang's collar lit up as bolts of electricity began to arc across her body Yang shrieked in pain as her hair began to glow. "Yang!" Winston yelled as he grabbed the bars of his cage. He looked up at the man holding the remote and shot his hand out in an attempt to grab the remote. The bulky man laughed as he held the remote slightly higher so it was just out of Winston's reach.

"Don't think just because you don't have a collar means we can't punish you too." The fat one said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a taser. He activated the taser and pressed it to Winston's cage, causing the current to fill the cage. Winston roared in pain as he felt the electricity race up his legs and cover his body. Weiss watched in horror as Yang and Winston were electrocuted continuously for half a minute before Winston's Aura shield shattered and he fell limp in his cage and the glow on Yang's hair vanished completely as she collapsed to her knees and fell onto her face, bolts of electricity still shooting across her form every few seconds.

The fat man grunted, content with what they'd just done and turned to the thin man. "Come on then Inky. Let's go get your nose fixed." He said as he grabbed the man by his arm and led him back towards the guard shack. "Shove the Schnee's cage against the wall beside the Dragon. They have until tomorrow morning to sleep before we auction them off and send the Schnee to his own mine."

The bulky man grunted and moved Winston's cage against the wall beside Yang before turning and walking back towards the shack with the others. Weiss watched the men leave and waited until they had all returned to their shack and closed the door before reaching through the bars to try to shake Yang awake. As her hand touched Yang's arm she recoiled in pain as Yang's skin felt like fire to the touch.

"You won't be able to touch them for the next few minutes little one." A voice from across the hall stated.

Weiss turned her head to look out and see if she could see who had spoken. _'H-hello?'_ She called, her mind reaching out across the room to the other Faunus captives.

"Over here little one." The voice said again, one of the silhouettes began to wave a massive arm. "You won't be able to touch either of them until the surge has died completely. They were being shocked for a long time, so it will take a few minutes." The voice said.

 _'Who are you?'_ Weiss asked as she strained to see the man. Even though she could see in the dark quite well thanks to her Faunus DNA, her fear was playing havoc with her ability to focus.

"My tribe calls me Rajkamal. You may call me Raj." He said as he shifted into the dim light to give Weiss a better chance of seeing him. He had a pale face, with wrinkles around his eyes that showed a great deal of age, with a red shaggy beard and long shaggy red hair. His nose was rather flat and seemed to go almost straight down his face, while he had large teal eyes that shined bright in the dim light. "Tell me little one, how is it that a Schnee has come to save you and the blonde one?" Raj asked as he returned to leaning against the bars in the back of his cage.

 _'He's my big brother!'_ Weiss said as she looked over to where Winston lay sprawled out on his cage floor, wisps of smoke rising from his singed hair.

"Your brother eh?" Raj's voice held a great deal of surprise as he looked over to Winston's form. "So, the black sheep of the Schnee is actually a young white wolf. Gurararara" Raj said as he started to laugh.

"W... W-watch yo-ur m-m-mouth." A strained voice spoke as Winston's body began to rise. Winston groaned as he turned himself onto his stomach and tried to push himself to his knee's.

Raj huffed. "You should stay down Schnee. That was enough juice to bring down a Goliath."

Winston ignored the man and slowly crawled towards the front of his cage. Once he reached the front he hesitantly reached up to the lock on his cage and grabbed the bars. With a significant effort he pulled himself up to it and raised his other hand. There was a quiet jingle as he opened his hand and moved the keys towards the lock.

"The keys!" Raj shouted as he shot to the front of his cage in shock. Other Faunus around the room turned to see what he was talking about and saw Winston's shaky hand placing the key in the lock for his cage. With a slow turn he unlocked his cage and pushed the door open. It let out a mighty squeak as the rust hinges ground against one another. "How the hell did you get the keys?!" Raj asked as Winston used the cage Yang was in to steady himself.

Winston smiled weakly. "When I reached for the bastard... that was shocking Yang... I took the keys from him while he wasn't paying attention." He wheezed. He turned to Weiss who was looking at him in awe. He smiled wider as he tried to put up a braver front for his sister. "Told you I'd get us out..." He said quietly. Winston staggered forward and dropped to his knee's before Weiss's cage.

Winston raised the keys to her lock and as quickly as he could, unlocked Weiss's cage. Weiss opened the door and rushed around it to give Winston a hug. He smiled as he patted her on the top of the head. _'I told her you'd come for us.'_ Weiss said as she looked over at Yang. _'She didn't believe you'd risk your life or reputation for a Faunus.'_

Winston frowned as he looked at Yang. "She was mostly right. If it had been anyone else I most likely wouldn't have cared." He stated as he glanced back to see Weiss pouting. "Human or Faunus, I only risk my life for things I care about." He finished as he moved to open Yang's cage. Weiss seemed to perk up a bit as Winston clarified his statement concerned humans and Faunus.

Winston placed the key into the lock and opened the door to Yang's cage. Her cage was much quieter as it swung open, allowing Winston to open it fully to crawl in and try to wake Yang. As he placed a hand on her shoulder he winced as her skin was still burning hot from her Semblance, nevertheless Winston shook her a few time trying to rouse her. "Come on Yang, wake up. I can't leave this place without you, Ruby'd kill me." He said.

She groaned as her eyes opened slightly and scanned her immediate surroundings. Her eyes locked onto an arm holding her shoulder and she traced it up to a pair of light blue eyes giving her a cold stare from behind messy white hair. "Come on, we need to go." Winston said as he grabbed Yang under her arms and dragged her out of her cage. Once she was out he took the key and used them to remove Weiss and Yang's collars.

"Hey! What about us?!" Raj shouted from behind them. Winston turned to him with a bored stare then sighed.

"Fine, here." He said as he tossed the keys to Raj who caught them eagerly. "It'll spite Silas a great deal to lose an entire Auction worth of slaves."

Raj quickly unlocked his own cage and removed his collar, before turning and moving to the other cages. Yang turned to Winston with a tired smile as he helped her to her feet. "Well what do you know... Winston Schnee helping liberate an entire shipment on Faunus slaves." She said with a grin.

Winston grunted. "Never let Blake find out about this. I'd never live it down."

After a few minutes every Faunus had been released and were celebrating quietly as they searched for an exit, while Raj helped Winston with Yang. "You know I'm quite surprised that a Schnee would put their life on the line to save a Faunus, even on in their own family." Raj said as he glanced down to Winston.

"Even bad people have principals." He said as he limped forward.

"Mr. Schnee!" One of the Faunus called from the side, causing Yang, Raj and Winston to turn to look at him. "You may want to see this."

Winston sighed and turned to Raj. "Get Yang and Weiss outside and to safety. I'll be along shortly." He said. Raj nodded and continued towards the exit that the others had found and were securing. Winston turned and strode over to the Faunus that had the keys that Winston had taken and noticed that he was pointing at a weapon locker.

"I found these weapons they had stored back here!" He said as he pulled out a rifle and a blade. Winston's eyes narrowed as he recognized Myrtenaster in the mans hand.

"Good. I was wondering what they had done with my weapons." He said as he took the blade from the mans hand and looked inside the locker. Inside he saw a vast array of conventional weapons, consisting of pistols, rifles and swords, and he also found his Destiny, Ember Celica, his coat and his missing shoe. Winston frowned and looked down, noticing that they had taken his shoe annoyed him more than it should have. He turned to the Faunus that had the keys and took them from him. "Gather the others and get them some of these weapons. Use them to escape the kingdom and return to your homes."

The Faunus nodded and ran off to find others to help him carry the arms. Winston grabbed his shoe and coat and redressed himself, using a nearby rubber band to tie his hair back. He glanced down at the keys in his hand with a dark grin. He turned and began walking back towards the room they had been held in. Upon arriving he turned to the guard shack and walked up to the door. He glanced inside and saw the three men sitting around a television. He narrowed his eyes and looked down to his arms. He removed Ember Celica from his pockets and placed them on his wrists, finding the glove to be annoying as it didn't fit his larger hand.

'Time to see if all those boxing lessons I had when I was younger went to waste.' Winston thought as he allowed Yang's weapons to shift into their active mode and reared back with a strike. He threw his fist forward hard, discharging the gauntlet the moment his fist struck the door, blowing the flimsy hunk of wood to splinters as the cloud rained down throughout the room. The three men turned to see Winston glaring at them from the door.

The bulky man looked shocked as he stared at Winston, now adorned fully with his gear. "How?!" He shouted.

Winston turned to him with a sinister smile. He held up the keys he had taken from the man. "Thanks for letting me borrow these, I'm done with them now you can have them back." He said as he threw the keys to the man. he caught them and looked down to his belt where they were supposed to be sitting.

"Now then..." Winston said as he glared at the fat man. "Yang tells me that you found my little sister... 'cute'." He growled the last word as he allowed a freezing aura to spread throughout the room. "Lets talk about that." He said as he cracked his knuckles.

Outside the auction house Raj and the other Faunus could clearly hear the screams of the guards as Winston tore them apart. He grimaced as he looked over to the wall where Yang was leaning against it with Weiss. The two had been the reason that they were free, as without the Schnee they'd still be stuck in the cages. He wanted to thank them, but it seemed best to leave them be for the time.

After few minutes the screams of the men died down until there was an eerie silence that fell over the outside. None of the other Faunus said anything as they watched Winston walk out the door with blood covering his coat, pants and gauntlets. He walked past Raj and knelt down beside Yang and handed her the bloody gauntlets.

She gave Winston a look of shock and rage at what he had done to her beautiful gauntlets. Winston chuckled as he reached over and patted Weiss on the head. "At least your both safe now." He said.

"Mr. Schnee." Raj said getting Winston's attention. He turned to Raj with a raised brow. "On behalf of all the Faunus you've freed tonight, I'd like to thank you. We shall make certain the world hears of the great things you've done tonight for the Faunus."

Winston frowned. "You really don't have to do that." He said flatly.

Raj shook his head. "Don't be modest sir. Without you, we'd all be sold into slavery tomorrow. The world must know that the SDC supports the end to Faunus slavery!" Raj shouted as he turned to the other Faunus. "What say you men!?"

"YEAH! Glory to the Schnee!" They shouted as they raised their weapons into the air.

Winston adopted a concerned look as he watched the Faunus. "No really, it was nothing! You don't need to tell anyone about this!" He shouted.

"Come men! Let us return home and inform the others of what the Schnee have done for us now that the tyrant Jacques is imprisoned by Winston's hand! Glory to the new Schnee!" Raj shouted as he and his men roared in cheer and started off into the woods.

Winston looked devastated as he watched a mob of Faunus with weapons march off into the wild to spread rumors about his company saving Faunus from slavery. Weiss and Yang were roaring with laughter as they watched Winston fall forward into the dirt in despair.

"Come one Winston, lets get out of here. I think I've had enough of Atlas to last me a life time." She said as Weiss helped her to her feet.

Winston groaned into the dirt as he crawled to his feet with a fresh scowl. "I need to get to my office and get started on damage control." He muttered as he took one of Yang's arms and placed it over his shoulder to help her walk. The three started off into the woods at a slow pace, gradually putting distance between them and the empty auction house.

Once they were a sufficient distance from the accursed building, Yang turned to look up at Winston. "Hey, Winny." She asked with a tired voice.

His scowl darkened at the nickname. "What." He spat as he continued forward.

Yang looked down at Weiss who was holding her other arm. "If it had been just me, not Weiss captured, would you have still tried to save me?" She asked as she turned back to him.

Winston stopped walking as he paused to think. He furrowed his brow and came to a conclusion.

"Yes. I may not have come in the same way, but I would have still come to save you. Your part of my team." He said as he started to walk again.

"Only because I'm part of your team?" She pressed.

Winston turned to look down at Yang. "If you weren't part of my team then I would have likely never met or associated with you or your sister. While my overall opinion of the Faunus has yet to change, you and the other two have grown on me." He said.

Yang smiled. "Aww... Like siblings?" She asked.

Winston deadpanned. "Like a rash."

Yang burst out laughing as Winston adopted a smug smile. Weiss trailed along beside them with a happy smile, pleased to see that her brother was getting along with Yang. As her laughter died down, Yang turned to look back at Winston with a look of curiosity. "Say Winston, you mentioned before that you hated the White fang and the Faunus long before the incident with Weiss and your scar. What happened to make you hat the Faunus so deeply?" She asked.

Winston's smile vanished from his face as he returned to a scowl, this time with a far more angry resting point that usual.

"Winston?" She asked.

Winston turned to look at Yang as they reached a cliff overlooking Atlas. Below them was the city, lit up under the night sky as light traffic moved along the roads and stores and hotels remained open for business. Winston paused and took a seat by the edge of the cliff, prompting Yang and Weiss to do the same. He turned to look at Weiss.

"Hey Weiss, I need to talk to Yang for a minute, can you go play in the stream over there?" He asked as he pointed to a small creak about twenty feet away. "It'll only take a minute." Weiss looked between Winston and Yang before nodding and rushing over to clean her face in the water, her tail wagging as she ran across the clearing.

Winston sighed and looked back out at the city, Yang following his gaze to the White Castle that his family lived in.

"You already know why I hold such a deep hatred for the White Fang... But do you truly wish to know why I harbor such a deep resentment for the Faunus as a whole?" He asked as he turned to look into Yang's eyes.

She nodded.

Winston sighed again and pointed out at the castle. "It all started a little more than a decade ago. Winter was about to graduate from Atlas, and father was trying to deal with the fact that his original heir had decided to abandon the company in favor of the military. My mother and I were playing in the fields behind the house when we were suddenly attacked by some unknown group of assailants." He said as he directed her gaze to the massive fields behind his castle.

"They were a fringe group of the White Fang, who at the time while it was still more peaceful, believed they should adopt a more assertive approach to dealing with humans. Much like the Fang today." He continued as he lowed his arm to his side and turned to Yang. "They kidnapped my mother and I and took us far from Atlas. Bringing us to an old SDC Mining operation that had been shut down after the Dust veins ran dry. They brought my mother and I to the lowest levels of the mine and chained us to the walls in our new cells."

Yang was silent as she listened to Winston telling a story he had likely never told anyone else before. "We were held there for months, I was beaten daily, as was my mother. I was only seven at the time, so I didn't know anything about the Faunus, nor did I now anything about the White Fang. But they made sure that I knew why I was being beaten. They beat me because my family was powerful and I was a Human. They didn't give a damn about the Faunus in our mines, or the lack of provisions being sent to their communities." He said quietly.

"One day, after a few months of being beaten regularly, something new happened. A large man with hair a white as mine and a pair of white wolf ears appeared in our cell."

Yang turned to look over at Weiss and saw the girl washing her face and arms in the water. "Weiss father..." She said quietly.

Winston nodded. "His name was Gwyn Wolf. He came into our cell and took my mother away. I could hear him in the next cell over... I could hear everything that bastard did to my mother..." Winston growled as he clenched his fist. Tears slowly appearing in his the corner of his eyes. "He raped my mother everyday for a month. I could hear her screaming for him to stop, pleading to him to at least free me. All the bastard would ever do is finish with her walk over to my cell and look me in the eyes and say 'This is what your kind deserves.' Like a seven year old was supposed to understand his ideological war."

Yang gave Winston a distressed look as she saw him begin to shake as stray tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"I couldn't do anything to stop them... When they finally returned my mother her dress was torn, and her legs were bleeding so badly I thought that she was going to die in the cell with me. I had accepted that there was nothing I could do to get us both out alive, and resigned myself to death in that old mine."

Yang reached out and placed a hand on Winston's shoulder to try and comfort him. "Winston, what happened next? You and your mother both made it out, your both okay now." She said.

Winston shook his head. "No, my mother never recovered from our time there. She may have survived, but she can't walk anymore, Gwyn Wolf saw to that when he severed the tendons in her leg that would allow her to kick him away while he held her down." Winston coughed as he wiped the tears from his eyes and continued his story.

"About a month after my mother had been returned to me, the mine was attacked by the Atlesian military. Winter had convinced General Ironwood to search for us, and had finally found the mines that they'd hidden us in. When the mine came under attack, Gwyn came down to our cell to kill my mother and use me as a hostage to escape with his life." Winston's scowl growing darker with each passing second he pressed on. "He reared back to strike my mother with his blade, when an explosion rocked the mountain we were under, causing a rock to fall from the ceiling and hit Gwyn's shoulder." Now an evil grin crept onto Winston's face. "It broke his collar bone and dislocated his arm. His sword was sitting next to me and I grabbed it the second I had the chance. I ran over and stabbed him right in the chest, then the neck, then anywhere I could hit as I took out over five months of pent up rage on him."

Winston turned to look Yang in the eyes. Her concerned stare met a cold and dead stare from him. "He was the first man I ever killed. I will never regret it. I only regret I didn't have the chance to do it before he hurt my mother." Winston spat. "Once mother and I had been rescued from the mine and received proper medical attention, she found out that she was pregnant with Weiss." Winston said as he looked over and saw his little sister happily splashing in the water. "Father wanted her to abort it immediately, but mother refused. She didn't believe that the sins of the parents should condemn the child. So my father beat her and locked her away in the castle until Weiss was born. He intended to kill Weiss when she was born and my mother too weak from child birth to stop him."

Winston ran a hand down his face in exhaustion as he continued. "If not for Winter leaking to the media that the third Schnee child had been born, my father would have killed her in the delivery room. But even he knew that the SDC couldn't live down a child homicide scandal. He told me to make sure that Weiss knew her place once she came of age, and got a collar for her to wear. He refused to give her a room in the castle, stating that she deserved nothing more than a kennel. She was in turn placed with Winter in her room for the first few years of her life." He finished as he looked out at the city below.

"There... Now you know why I harbor such a deep seated hatred and distrust of your species." Winston growled as he let his head drop into his arms.

Yang frowned as she looked at her teammate. Even if he was an egotistical ass, and a racist, he did still put his life on the line to save he and his sister from slavery. And she couldn't ignore the cruelty that the Faunus had inflicted on his family as the reason he refused to befriend them. Yang responded with the only thing she thought would help at the time. She grabbed Winston and pulled him into a hug.

Winston blinked in surprise as a few tears rolled down his face, a slight blush coating his cheeks as he slowly processed what was happening.

"I'm sorry for what you had to go through Winston. After hearing that, it make my mother abandoning me seem trivial by comparison." Yang said as she hugged Winston tighter.

For a moment Winston considered hugging her back before his scowl returned and the blush expanded across his whole face.

"ALRIGHT! That's enough hugging!" He snapped as he pulled away with a frown and returned to glaring at the city.

Yang smiled at him with a raised brow. "Your blushing Winston?" She teased. "I think you like me hugging you."

"No I didn't you fool! Quit assuming things with no information!" He snapped as he turned away from Yang.

"Do you like it when I do this?" She asked as she pulled him into a hug, his head rather close to her breasts this time.

Winston's eyes widened as his face grew redder. He stammered for a moment before jumping to his feet, causing Yang to fall backwards with a laugh. Winston tried to put on a stern face to remove the embarrassment he was feeling at the moment.

 ***BANG***

Winston fell forward with a roar of pain a bullet crashed into his knee, having lost his shield to the taser earlier, the bullet had no resistance to stop it from burying itself in Winston's leg.

Yang turned to see Silas stalking towards them with an infuriated look on his face.

"WINSTON!" He roared as he lowed his club and shifted it back to it's melee form. "WE NEED TO CHAT!"

Winston turned to Silas with a glare. "Silas you cowardly snake, attacking a man from behind is just like you." He growled.

Silas pointed a finger at Winston out of rage. "You just couldn't leave well enough alone could you Winston!? Just like your father and your sister you just have to fuck everything up for me!" He shouted as he continued towards Winston.

Winston winced as he tried to stand and fell back onto one knee. "Face it Silas, you've lost. I set all the slaves free! There's nothing you can do now!" Winston laughed as he mocked Silas.

Silas scowled. "There will be other chances to auction off those animals, even if I don't have a Dragon or a White Wolf to headline it! The King still protects slavers in this country, and that isn't changing any time soon!" Silas shouted with an evil grin. "You just wont be around to mess it up next time." He said as he changed his weapon back into a gun and aimed it at Winston. He was about to fire when he heard a splash and saw Weiss off to the side, looking at him in terror. An evil grin crept onto his face.

"Actually, I want you to die suffering Winston." He said as he turned and aimed his gun at Weiss.

"NO!" Winston and Yang roared as they tried to move to stop Silas before he could shoot.

 ***BANG***

 ***TING***

Silas fired at Weiss and was shocked when the bulled was blocked by a large greatsword. Following the blade to it's owner he saw Jaune and Winter giving him death glares, with the rest of RWBY and JNPR behind them.

"Hello Silas." Winter growled. "I believe you were trying to kill my sister just now." She said as she separated her swords apart and got into a crouch. "I'm going to have to kill you for that.

Silas stared in horror as the odds quickly turned against him and did the only thing he thought he could do. He aimed his can and the ground and deployed a large smoke bomb that filled the clearing with a thick black cloud.

Winter glared at Silas's retreating form as she coughed from the smoke in her lungs. "He's *cough* getting away!" She shouted as she moved to follow him. She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder and looked to see Jaune stopping her.

"Don't worry! *cough* He wont get far, *cough* he's running right to Leo!" Jaune said between coughs.

Silas was running as fast as he could to escape Winter and Jaune. "Damnit! Why'd they have to show up here! I could have dealt with the kids, but I've never beaten either of them alone, it'be suicide to fight them together!" He yelled as he leapt over roots and branches before slamming into a large metal object. Silas fell back onto his back and stared up in fear at Leo's armor staring down at him unmoving. After a few moments of silence Silas gave the armored giant a confused stare before getting to his feet and investigating the suit.

He found the suit to be empty, its usual occupant having abandoned it to better maneuver in the forest. He laughed loudly as he climbed up onto the armor. "If I take the Black Knight's armor, then even Winter and Jaune can't stop me!" He laughed as he opened the panel at the top to climb in, only to stop as he heard a twig snap behind him. Silas spun around and aimed his club at whatever was behind him in terror.

He saw nothing before him, but there was an odd greenish black fog settling over the clearing that was making him nervous. He holstered his club and turned back to the suit to examine the interior. As Silas examined the inside he failed to notice the massive black figure crawling down the tree behind him slowly. Suddenly the armor came to life and began to glow.

"I'd be careful Silas." It said as it raised it's left arm to the sky. "Thorne hasn't been out in a while, and he's not in a good mood."

Silas recoiled in shock as the armor spoke to him, then followed its arm to the sky, only to notice a large black hand with long white claws hovering over his head, emitting the same greenish black fog that filled the clearing. He shrieked in terror as the hand shot down and grabbed him by the head causing him to drop his club to the ground before he was hauled into the tree's with the large figure. He shrieking was ended suddenly as a loud splattering noise was heard, followed by bits of blood and flesh falling from the trees.

The armor backed away from the tree to avoid getting any on itself as the viscera dropped down. "You always have been a messy eater."

* * *

 **Happy this year now! Yay, extra long chapter to make up for the shit job I've done writing this filler up til now. The fillers done and everyone's back together again. Well... everyone but Silas. He's in various bits and pieces in the woods.**

 **Leave a review telling me what you thought of the new chapter after so long, and don't forget to vote if you haven't. The Poll will only be open for one more chapter.**

 **Happy April Fools and Happy Easter!**


	14. Surprise!

**Bout time you people voted again!**

 **Coco - Female: 10 - Male: 3**

 **Yatsuhashi - Female: 7 - Male: 3**

 **Fox - Female: 5 - Male: 10**

 **Just cast your votes in a review, as I can't seem to get the Poll's on my profile to work properly.**

 **My Idea to be revealed later: 4**

 **Female Maidens and Male Knights: 1**

 **The polls will remain open until the start of the next chapter.**

 **I've gotten a few complaints about the grammar and continuity errors of my story over the course of the Filler arc, so allow me to clarify a few things.**

 **This Arc was a cluster F**k to write.**

 **I WILL be going back and correcting the errors when I have time, but until then I can't do much more than say that I'm sorry, and assure you that I have gotten a new Beta Reader to catch my mistakes. Weather or not they will prove to be good is yet to be seen.**

 **Also, to be clear, Weiss has TWO traits. Ears and a tail. It wasn't a mistake or a alteration I made at the last second. Her ears were seen by the group, while her tail was hidden in her cloak.**

 **This is supposed to begin 2 days after the end of the last chapter.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of it's affiliated characters.**

* * *

 **Atlas Castle**

"By the power vested in me by the kingdom of Atlas, I now pronounce you, man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The priest's words were met with thunderous cheers as Jaune turned to Winter and lifted her veil before leaning in to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he held her around the waist. The castle grounds were filled with friends and relatives of both parties, with one side being mostly blonde, save a few members of JNPR and other friends, and the other side mostly snow white, barring team RWBY and the General.

Winston sat in the front row on the left with a rare smile on his face as he clapped his hands, his team and little sister flanking him on either side. He had given Winter away in place of his father, who Winston had made certain he would see the wedding while in jail, if for no other reason than to spite him for his failure to kill her. His left leg was stretched out ahead of him with a cast wrapped around his knee, and a pair of crutches between himself and Yang, who had several bandages on her body and a cast on her wings base. Weiss had been lucky and gotten away with only a few minor scratches on her feet, likely from running in the forest, and a small concussion.

Yang was teary eyed as she watched the ceremony, the reason being equal parts the general feeling she got when she went to weddings, the other was from trying to suppress her urge to laugh seeing professor Thorne as Jaune's best man, standing behind him and towering over him by several feet in his armor. His mother had decided that since he couldn't leave his armor at the wedding, he would need to get it repainted. Yang assumed that he had been feeling pretty sassy this morning, so the professor decided to have Jaune help, the end result being the giant black knight having a small white bowtie on the top of his chest plate, and the word 'TUXEDO' painted under it. The boys thought it was hilarious.

The women did not.

If not for the ceremony being less than an hour away the bride may have maimed them. Jaune had two other men standing just past the giant, while Winter was a bit more sad. She had an empty space beside her, followed by two of Jaune's sisters. Winston had mentioned to his team not to ask her about the space at the wedding, explaining that she had promised her late friend Diamond that she would be her Maid of Honor. Diamond was the final member of JDWL that had died several years ago while on a mission with the professor.

When Weiss asked her sister why though, Winter had said she didn't feel right letting someone else take the spot she'd promised her best friend just because Diamond couldn't make it.

Blake seemed mildly uncomfortable sitting beside Winston's grandfather and grandmother, the two elders clapping as they watched their granddaughter's wedding. The two had insisted that if Winston was going to sit beside his sister, they needed a barrier between themselves and his 'pets' on his team. That left Winston to move Blake beside them despite protests from her over what they said. Ruby didn't seem to mind the two, simply ignoring them as she waved to Jean and her team.

"So when are we heading back to Vale?" Yang asked as she turned to Winston who had placed an arm over Weiss's shoulder.

"I was planning to stay in Atlas for a week to give my butler some vacation time. You and the others may join me or find another method of transportation back." He said.

"Trying to get rid of us so soon?" She asked. "I figured you'd want to stay in Atlas for a month to make sure that your sisters would be okay."

Winston scoffed.

"My sister will soon become the Queen consort of Atlas, married to the same hunter she spent the better part of her adult life protecting. I don't think I have much to worry about."

Yang squinted her eyes and jabbed Winston in the side, eliciting a surprised twitch from the boy.

"This wasn't just some political marriage to link the SDC to the crown, was it?"

Winston held his side and sent the blonde a glare.

"No! Winter has had nothing to do with the SDC for the last six years. After she joined the military she distanced herself from everything Schnee other than her name."

"What about Weiss?" Yang asked as she glanced at the small Faunus hiding in Winston's arm.

"She's why I'm going to be staying. My staff could see to my mothers needs with ease, but only Sebastian knows Weiss's secret. I can't trust anyone else with the information, lest they leak it to the press to create a scandal. It would be all the worse now that my family is tied to the Royal line." Winston said while he ran a hand down Weiss's back.

Weiss sighed happily as she nuzzled into her brothers side with a smile on her face. Most of the Schnee family that had arrived for the wedding protested the decision to allow Weiss to wear her cloak during the ceremony, but a quick glare from Winston and Winter silenced them instantly.

"That's just adorable." Yang said as she smiled down at Weiss.

"Quit leaning over me!" Winston growled as he placed a hand over Yang's face and shoved her back into her seat. She frowned playfully as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Someone's grumpy."

"Of course I'm grumpy! I have a broken Knee, and I have to walk around with these blasted crutches!" He snapped as he shook the crutches between them. "At least I can take it off in a couple days. Thank god for Aura."

"At least you didn't break your wing." Yang grumbled as she glanced over her shoulder at the cast on her back. "Now I can't sleep right anymore. My cast on my arm gets in the way if I lay on my side, my cast on my wings get in the way if I lay on my back, and my boobs get in the way if I lay on my front!" She grabbed her chest to emphasize the last part as she sent Winston a joking glare.

Winston blushed slightly as she grabbed her chest, and turned to look at Ruby, who seemed to be trying to muffle her laughter.

"What's so funny Ruby?" He asked with a scowl.

She pointed past them to the Arc family side where Glynda and Jean's mother were holding each other and crying. It wasn't as though the stern teacher had lost all composure and was sobbing hysterically, but it was still a sight to behold.

"I don't think I've ever seen Ms. G have any look other than angry!" Yang said as she placed a hand over her mouth to quite her giggling.

"She did say that she and Jean's mother went to Atlas together. It's only reasonable that they'd be close friends if the Queen invited her to Jaune's wedding." Blake added as she quietly watched Jaune and Winter walk past them down the isle, followed by the professor shaking the room as he walked past.

"Come on, it'll be our turn to walk in a second." Winston said as he ushered Weiss to her feet and grabbed his crutches. Yang, Ruby and Blake got up with him, and Winston's mother rolled out from he spot on the end of the row and motioned for Sebastian to help her along. Winston followed Weiss out of the castle with his team and mother behind him, Jean and the royal family following soon after.

The professor moved past Jaune and Winter and opened the door to the waiting ship that was set to take the newly weds to Vacuo. Jaune turned and waved to his family before climbing into the ship, Winter collected the bouquet of flowers from the guard beside the ship and waved the girls from Jaune's family over, with Ruby, Yang and Blake joining them. Nora stayed back with Ren while Pyrrhus watched Jean rush up to the group.

 _'What's going on?'_ Weiss asked as she looked up at Winston.

"It's the 'Bouquet Toss'. At the end of the ceremony the Bride throws the bouquet into the crowd, and the woman who catches it is the next one to get married." Winston explained as he watched Winter wave the flowers out at the crowd.

 _'I want to play!'_ Weiss said as she surged forward, only to feel a firm hand grab her shoulder and pull her back.

"No. Your too young to get married. Besides, it's just an old superstition. Almost all the girls over there are too young to wed anyway." Winston said as he pulled Weiss to his side.

 _'When can I get married?'_ She asked looking up at Winston.

"Hmm..." He said as he dramatically placed a hand on his chin and looked up to the sky in thought. "I'd say... maybe, fifty years from now. Yeah, I should be dead by then." He said.

 _'Meanie.'_ Weiss said as she turned to her mother and climbed into her lap.

Winter closed her eyes and spun around. She counted to three and tossed the bouquet into the air. It sailed back several feet before dropping into what Winston could only describe as a shark feeding frenzy as the girls crawled over each other to get to the flowers. After a few seconds of squabbling, and watching Jean and Blake get ejected from the pile, a hand shot up holding the flowers, much to the dismay of the other girls around.

Winston raised a brow as he watched Ruby walk back with a defeated look on her face as Yang held the flowers triumphantly. She walked back to her place beside Winston and began to look over the flowers. Blake scowled as she returned to her place beside her partner.

"Was it really necessary to throw me into the air like that?" She asked as she prodded Yang's side.

"All's fair in love and war Blakey." Yang said with a grin.

 _'Are you going to marry my brother now?'_

Had any of the team been drinking something at that moment, it would have ended up covering the royal family across the path.

"W-WHAT?!" Winston asked as he spun around to face his sister, nearly falling as his legs got tangled with his crutches.

 _'You said that the one who catches the flowers is the next one to get married.'_ Weiss said as she pointed to Yang.

Winston nodded, his eyes still wide.

"Okay. So why do you think she would marry me?!" He stammered as he watched his mother send him an amused smile.

 _'She was hugging you when we were in the forest. And I saw her laughing when you were talking.'_

'When did she laugh?' Winston wondered as he though back over the events of the night, wondering if at some point in his tragic story he had caused Yang to laugh.

 _'She laughed when you stood up with your face all red.'_ Weiss said as Winston's eye twitched.

"Quit reading my mind!" He snapped as Ruby laughed at him.

A sly smile crept onto Yang's face as she maneuvered her arms and wrapped them around Winston's body from behind and stuck her head over his shoulder.

"Come on Winston, you heard Weiss. I caught the bouquet so now I get to get married next." She pulled him against her, relishing in his blush as her breasts pressed against his back. "Lets tie the knot."

"Get off me!" He snapped as he threw her off him and stumbled forward on one leg. He wobbled in place for a moment before crashing to the ground. His annoyed blush grew as he heard the rest of his team and his mother laughing at him. "I'm going to freeze all of you." He mumbled into the dirt.

Yang calmed her laughter as she watched the ship with Jaune and Winter take off and being flying away from the city.

"Isn't there supposed to be some kind of party after the wedding?" She wondered aloud.

"Not in Atlas dear." Winston's mother said as she rolled up alongside Yang. "The party is held the night before the ceremony, then the Bride and Groom leave immediately after the kiss."

Yang's face fell.

"So that means we missed the food!" She cried as she turned to Ruby. "Did you know the party was last night!?"

Ruby and Blake nodded.

"Yeah, we were both there." Ruby said as she guestured over to Blake. "You and Winston were still recovering from your injuries in the hospital so we didn't want to wake you."

Yang dropped the flowers and grabbed Ruby by the shoulders.

"But Jean told me that there would be lobsters! And I've never eaten a lobster before!" Yang shouted as she began to shake Ruby back and forth.

"Y-Y-YA-A-AN-G! ST-OP!" Ruby shouted as she rocked back and forth.

* * *

 **Schnee Headquarters**

"Mr. Schnee! Care to comment on the rumor that you were recently kidnapped by slave traders?!" One of the reporters shouted as he held out his recorder.

"No." Winston said as he pointed to the next reporter down the line.

"Mr. Schnee! Can you give any information on the direction that you will be taking the SDC now that you have taken over?!" The new one shouted.

"There won't be any changes to our Business model. The SDC has worked just fine for nearly a century with our current methods so I see no reason to try something new." He pointed to the next reporter.

RWBY had departed from the castle shortly after the end of the wedding, Winston had insisted on sleeping in his own room now that he was back home, and agreed to house his team while they stayed with him. The SDC corporate office was on the way, and Winston had recalled that he was to hold a press conference once the wedding was over. Begrudgingly he told the driver to drop them at the office so he could change into one of his suits, his team staying with him while Weiss and their mother continued home with Sebastian.

"Mr. Schnee! Is there any truth to the rumors that your sisters marriage to prince Jaune was a political arrangement to strengthen the SDC's ties in Atlas?" The reporter asked.

"No. My sister and Jaune grew up together, and trained on the same team at Atlas Academy. They married of their own volition, and Winter has no ties with the current SDC." Winston replied.

"Mr. Schnee!" One called from the back of the room. Once he stood up the people at the front could see that he was some type of Faunus. "Will the SDC do anything to improve the current conditions of the Faunus workers in the mines?"

Blake and the others had been sitting on some chairs behind Winston for the majority of the conference, listening along with little interest as he was asked a number of business question or questions related to his family. As she heard the reporter ask about the Faunus in the mines her bow twitched and she turned to Winston with a raised brow.

Winston sighed and adjusted his current place on his crutches.

"The Faunus and Humans working in the mines of the SDC have the highest quality of living out of all dust providers on Remnant. We have inspectors that travel to each mine every month to assess the quality of the mines to make certain that the air and water purifiers are working at peak efficiency." He said as he adjusted the microphone.

"And what of other amenities? Proper food supplies, housing, benefits." The reporter pressed.

"They are miners." Winston said as he narrowed his eyes at the reporter. "My companies security division, along with the Atlesian Hunters association, provide ample security to guarantee that no Grimm make it on site. The mines have small farms with cattle set up on site that allow for them to provide for themselves when the food shipments are late." He turned to adjust the way his bad knee was resting. "And on the note of housing, the SDC provides several dorm buildings on site that house the workers."

"But from what I've read the dorm buildings are unable to hold the full amount of workers that live in them. They are overflowing and under staffed."

"The dorm buildings are as big as they need to be to accommodate the workers needs. The mines run around the clock, day and night, all year. The dorms would be more than capable of holding the full amount for each shift while the other is on duty."

"But the workers that are forced to share space have no place to hold personal belongings! They-" He tried before Winston cut him off.

"Would you have the SDC build a three star hotel at each mine? Or perhaps guarantee each worker a personal room to call their own?" He mocked as he glared over at the man. "The miners are there to work. We bring them in from across the planet to work at the mines, and each worker is informed of the living conditions of where they're heading. They know that they wont be living in the lap of luxury. The Humans and the Faunus are treated the same at the mines. Both make the same wage, live in the same dorms, and are protected by the same security." He turned and pointed to the next reporter. "Next question." He snapped with force behind his voice. The Faunus reporter scowled as he sat back down.

Blake crossed her arms with a similar scowl as she watched Winston brush the man off.

"Whats wrong with you Blake?" Yang asked as she glanced over to her partner.

"It's nothing Yang."

"It's not 'nothing', I can see the look on your face. What's bugging you?" Yang pressed.

"It's the way he treated that reporter when he asked his question." Blake said as she waved her hand in the direction of the Faunus reporter.

"What about the way the reporter treated Winston?" Yang asked with a raised brow.

"What?" Blake asked as she looked at Yang with a confused expression.

"The reporter continued to press the same question that Winston answered each time he spoke. Winston was patient with him for longer than I would have been."

"But he admitted that the Faunus at the mines have insufficient living space!" Blake said as she narrowed her eyes.

"He said that the dorms are set with people staying in them in shifts in mind. He also said that Humans and Faunus both live in the same conditions at the mines. The SDC isn't singling out the Faunus." Yang said as she defended Winston.

"But-"

"AHEM!" A voice shouted, causing Blake and Yang to look up at Winston. He was glaring down at them, with most of the room looking at them as well. "If you'd like to argue about something, do it somewhere else!" He snapped as he adjusted his tie and turned back to the reporters.

Blake and Yang's face's could blend in with Ruby's cloak as they felt the whole room staring at them.

"S-Sorry Winston." Yang said as she adjusted her wings behind the chair.

"Mr. Schnee!" Winston looked up and noticed the same Faunus reporter had stood once again.

"Yes?" Winston asked with a scowl.

"Who are these children that are sitting behind you on the stage?" He asked, his tone clearly portraying some hidden meaning to the question.

Winston's scowl never left his face as he answered.

"These three are members of my Hunters team at Beacon Academy."

The reporter wasted no time jumping on him.

"Are you able to comfortably work on a team with Faunus, despite your families sordid history with the Faunus species?" He questioned as he rose form his seat.

"Well I-" Winston started.

"Can you tell us today what the SDC's official opinion of the Faunus race is?" He shouted as he leaned towards Winston with a smirk.

"As I have-"

"What is your personal opinion of the Faunus Mr. Schnee!?" He demanded.

The room was silent as the other reporters went back and forth from shooting the Faunus reporter dirty looks for his outburst, and looking to Winston for his statement. The rest of his team could feel the rage flowing off of him as he gripped the podium he was standing behind with enough force to crush the wood in his palm. His head was looking down at the papers before him.

"My team and I work fine." Winston growled as he raised his head from the papers and glared a the reporter. "The SDC will hire anyone from either race, Human or Faunus provided they can pass a background check." He said as he released the podium and allowed the splinters to fall from the sides. He extended his right arm and opened his hand with his palm facing the reporter.

"Winston no!" Blake shouted as she moved to stop him.

"And me?" Winston growled as he narrowed his eyes. "I hate them." The next few seconds seemed to occur in slow motion as Blake slapped Winston's arm to the side, but not before he managed to encase the reporter in a prison of ice. The other reporters around the cage recoiled in shock as the ice erupted from the ground and trapped the Faunus reporter. Yang and Ruby watched as they swarmed to the sides of the room to avoid what they could only assume was going to be a murder.

...

...

...

Once nothing happened they turned to Winston with fearful and questioning stares. He simple raised his hand to his earpiece and spoke into it.

"Have the guards find out what agency the reporter trapped in ice in the fifth floor conference room is from, then ban them from all future conferences." He turned to other reporters with a scowl.

"The conference is over, my staff will see you out." He turned to his team, the scowl never leaving his face. "Lets go."

* * *

 **Schnee Castle**

"Sebastian!" Winston called as he entered the castle with the rest of RWBY following behind him. They saw the butler poke his head out from a room up the stairs and call down.

"Yes? Master Winston is that you?"

"Yes it's me. Can you show these girls to their rooms please, I need to do some work in the study." He shouted up the stairs as he turned to walk away.

"Actually Master Winston, I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment!" The could hear a shout of laughter and a splash. "I'm helping Miss Weiss with her bath at the moment. Your Mother mentioned that she wanted to speak to each of your team alone at some point, perhaps you can bring them to her?"

Winston sighed as he ran his hand down his face. Normally his butler would do as asked without question, but he and Winter had made it clear that anything involving their little sister was to take top priority.

"Very well. Do you know where she is by chance?" He asked as they heard another loud splash.

"Miss Weiss, if you could please try to keep at least SOME of the water in the tub!" Sebastian said before sticking his head back out. "I believe I saw her in the library." Winston nodded his thanks as he watched Sebastian retreat into the bathroom and heard the door shut.

"Alright, change of plans. My mother wants to meet you all, so you'll be with her for a little bit while I work. The library is the third door on the left down that hall." He said as he pointed to the left. "I'll be in that room there if you need me." He said as he started walking towards the study.

"Wait! Your just leaving us? What do you need to do that's so important that you can't show us to the library yourself?" Ruby called as Winston stopped before the study. He opened the door to reveal the devastation from his outburst several days prior. The window was shattered, with glass everywhere and the books and furniture had been thrown around the room.

"Calling the cleaners." He deadpanned as he walked in and shut the door.

The girls watched him close the door and frowned before turning to the hall he had pointed too. After a minute or so they found the door he had spoken of and opened it to reveal the library, with Winston's mother sitting in her chair at the center of the room. She turned to them with a raised brow before smiling and waving them over.

"You three must be Winston's teammates yes?" She asked as they got closer. The girls nodded. "My name is Monet, I am Winston's mother. It is nice to meet you all."

The three nodded as they introduced themselves.

"My name is Ruby Rose. I'm Winston's partner and the leader of team RWBY." Ruby said with a smile.

"My name is Yang Xiao-Long. I'm Ruby's big sister." Yang said as she glanced to Blake.

"My name is Blake Belladonna. I'm Yang's partner."

Winston's mother smiled to each of them before turning to Ruby.

"I'd like to speak to each of you alone if possible. I want to know from each of you how Winston is doing in Vale." Ruby turned to the others with a smile.

"You guys wait in the hall, I'll go first." Blake and Yang nodded to Ruby and walked to the door. Once they had left the room Ruby turned back to Winston's mother. "So what do you want to know?" She asked.

Winston's mother narrowed her eyes as she looked up at Ruby.

"How much of Winston's past do you know?" She asked.

Ruby frowned.

"Well, he told us about the time the White Fang attacked his home and hurt Weiss. And he told us about how he threw his own father in jail." Ruby said as she placed a finger on her chin. "He said that he got that scar over his eye when he tried to save Weiss. Other than that, I don't think he's talked much about his family."

"I see." His mother said as she placed her book down on the table and closed it. "How is he doing at the school? He can be difficult at times."

"Oh, no! Winston is great, he's been really helpful and he's super smart!" Ruby said as she tried to praise Winston for his mother.

His mother scoffed.

"You need not lie to me dear, I know he's smart, but he's never been one to play well with others, much less listen to someone younger than him. Tell me, how did he react when you were chosen to lead the team and not him?" She asked.

Ruby paused as she thought back to it.

"He wasn't pleased. He said that I didn't deserve it, and that Ozpin made a mistake." Ruby frowned.

"Now that sounds more like the Winston I raised. He was spoiled rotten since he was born."

"I don't know what happened, but later that same night he came up to me and told me that he'd accept me as the leader, but he'd be watching me. If I made a mistake he'd take over." Ruby said with a happy smile.

"Sounds like he met someone who talked some sense into him. A good thing I suppose, school is supposed to teach you things you need to survive in the real world." She said with a chuckle. "Alright, I think I've gotten what I need from you. Please send in your friend Blake next."

Ruby nodded and said goodbye before exiting the room. After a moment it opened again and Blake walked in. She walked over to Winston's mother and took a seat across from her. His mother again narrowed her eyes.

"How much of Winston's past do you know?" She asked again.

Blake raised a brow and gave his mother a confused look before closing her eyes and beginning.

"I know that your family has a bad history with the White Fang." She said, though she missed the way his mother's eyes widened for a second. "He told us how they attacked your home, hurt your daughter and gave him his scar." She said as she pointed to her left eye. "He said that his hatred of the White Fang stemmed from that."

His mother raised a brow.

"He told you that was when he started to hate the White Fang?" She asked.

Blake nodded.

"He said that after Weiss was hurt he decided to forge his second blade. One for monsters that hide in the dark, one for monsters that hide in human skin."

"I have always wondered why he carries two of those blades. Rapier's are not exactly a dual wield weapon." His mother said as she placed a hand on a book and slid it over towards the center of the table.

"Does Winston ever act against the Faunus on his team?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"Since your the only other Human on his team, I feel you may have the least biased opinion of the Schnee." She said.

'Not exactly...' Blake thought as a drop of sweat ran down the back of her neck.

"So I wanted to know if you've ever seen Winston acting in a way that would specifically put the Faunus members of his team in danger." She finished as she looked at Blake expectantly.

Blake paused and thought back to the first semester of their school year.

"I can't recall any time where Winston actively tried to place a Human, or a Faunus in danger. The first semester was mostly uneventful, save the last week or so." Blake said as she met Winston's mothers stare.

"Oh? What happened during the last week?" She asked with a raised brow.

Blake squirmed in her seat as she tried to remember why Winston and the others had been at the docks.

"Ah... Well, Winston and Yang wanted to investigate a missing SDC shipment, and they found some White Fang trying to steal the dust. Then we ended up in a big fight that destroyed most of the dock." Blake said as she tried to focus on the table, rather than meet the woman's gaze.

"Interesting. I'll have to talk to him about that. You've been very helpful, please send your friend Yang in now." Monet said as she waved to the door. Blake nodded and said goodbye before leaving and sending Yang in.

After a moment the door opened and Yang walked in, pulling the door shut behind her. She walked over to Monet and glanced down at the wheelchair before taking a seat in the same chair that Blake had used.

"So, I was told you and Winston saved a SDC shipment last week. Is this true?" She asked.

Yang gave he a confused look for a moment before she realized what she was talking about.

"Oh, the docks. No, we were there to look for a missing shipment, but we didn't stop them from stealing it. They still got away with two containers full of dust." Yang said with a frown.

"Two containers out of a full shipment is insignificant." Monet said as he waved a hand to the side. "Each shipment can have close to twenty containers, they stole next to nothing. However, your praiseworthy work at the docks is not why I wanted to talk to you." Monet said as she again narrowed her eyes on Yang. "What do you know of Winston's past?"

Yang froze on the spot, her eyes widening slightly. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped while she tried to find the correct way to explain what she knew.

"I... ah, he told me..." She started. "What I mean to say is... after he helped me and Weiss..."

Monet raised a brow as she listened along to the girl.

"Go on dear." She encouraged.

"He told us why he hates the White Fang... And he told me why he hates the Faunus." Yang said.

"He differentiated between the two?" His mother asked.

"Yes... He said that he hated the White Fang because they attacked your home and hurt Weiss." Yang said as she tilted her head down to examine the floor before continuing. "Then he said that the reason he hated the Faunus as a whole, was due to an incident several years before..." Yang trailed off as she looked down at Monet's wheelchair.

Monet followed her gaze down to the chair, her eyes widening as she caught on to what Yang was talking about.

"He told me about the abandoned mines, about what they did to him, and what they did to you."

Monet closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her hands gripping the ends of her arms rests.

"He told you about that did he?" She asked, he head tilting down to look at her legs. "It's hard for Winston to talk about those months. He was given everything he ever wanted at a young age. Almost since he could walk he had the whole house under his thumb, he was always in control. Then suddenly, he had all of his power taken from him. Not over the course of a few days, not from a slow build up. He lost control of everything in one minute, and he blames himself for what happened to me." She said with a sad tone.

"He told me that he hates the Faunus, yet he would lay down his life, company and, kingdom to save Weiss. Why?" Yang asked as she looked up at the older woman.

Monet let out a sigh and released her grip on the chair, allowing the fabric to slowly return to it's base shape.

"As I said, he blames himself for what happened to me. He said to me countless times while I was pregnant with Weiss that he was sorry he hadn't been strong enough to protect me." She sat back and raised her head to meet Yang's eyes. "He asked me why I wasn't getting rid of the baby, and I told him that the sins of the parents shouldn't reflect on the child. Weiss was innocent of any crimes. Then he told me that he was going to become a huntsman. He said he was going to stop anyone from every hurting his family ever again."

"So the fact that Weiss was born as a Faunus didn't bother him?" Yang asked.

Monet shook her head.

"Nope. He'd already decided before I was even in my third trimester that he was going to protect the new baby with his life. I remember the first time he saw her though, he was furious." Monet turned and wheeled her chair over to one of the shelves and began to run her finger along the spines.

"So he was bothered by the fact that she was a Faunus." Yang said with a frown.

"He was furious because she resembled Gwyn. Her ears and white hair reminded Winston of him so much so that Winston refused to even look at Weiss for the first week she was alive." Monet stopped at one thick book with a golden spine and pulled it out. "He didn't come around until she was almost two months old when he heard his father talking about putting her in a kennel."

Yang scowled as she thought back to the other night.

"Your face says it all dear." Monet said as she wheeled the chair back over to the table. "The thought of his baby sister being treated the same way that he had been treated made him remember his promise to me." She placed the book on the table and opened it to a random page. Yang looked over to the page and saw several pictures of Weiss as a baby being held by Winston.

"Aw... he even scowled when he was a child." Yang said with a small smile.

Monet laughed lightly as she began to flip through the pages.

"Yes, he hasn't changed much since Weiss was born. He used to smile a lot before the incident." She said as she came to a picture of their family before Weiss was born. Winston's father was standing in the background with Winter standing before him, Monet was sitting to the left of the father with Winston sitting on her lap. None of them were smiling, save for Winston, who couldn't have been more than three.

"Why's Winston the only one smiling?" Yang asked as she examine the photo.

"Because his father told him not to. That was a photo taken to be displayed in the lobby for the SDC headquarters. It was meant to convey power, and ruthless business. Winston thought it would look better with a smile." Monet said as she pointed to the opposite page witch held the same photo, but no smile this time. "After this one was taken, my husband had it retaken, and Winston didn't smile this time."

"Any particular reason?" Yang asked.

"Yes. His father yelled at him. Winston and Winter hated to disappoint their father when they were younger."

Yang frowned as she sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her stomach.

"The photo's were nice, but why did you show me these?" Yang asked.

"Because Winston seems to trust you." Monet said as she turned to a new page in the album. "He decided that it was safe to tell you about his greatest moment of weakness, and he thought it safe to tell your team about his sister."

"Ah..." Yang raised her hand to stop Monet for a second. "He didn't tell us about Weiss actually. She showed us before he could stop her."

"What?" Monet asked with a confused expression.

"Weiss pulled off her hood when she saw Ruby's ears."

"Ah." Monet said with a frown. "I'll have to talk to her before she leaves then."

"Weiss is leaving?" Yang asked. "The way Winston talks about her, I assumed she wasn't allowed outside the house."

"Normally she isn't. I was devastated when Sebastian told me that my daughter had been kidnapped, but it calmed me to know that Winston was going after them." Monet said as she closed the album. "However, I can't keep her locked inside the house forever. Her little stunt the other day is proof of that. So I'm sending her off with an old friend so she can have a chance to go to school."

"Does Winston know?" Yang asked.

"No. I'm going to surprise him with the news. And if he objects, well I am still the mother. I decide what happens with my daughters life." Monet said as she slid the book to the center of the table. "Now then, I'm sure you girls would like to see the rooms you'll be staying in tonight. Would you mind?" Monet asked as she guestured to the wheelchair.

"Oh, sure." Yang said as she got to her feet and moved behind the wheelchair to push it. They got to the door and found Blake and Ruby sitting outside on one of the benches.

"Come with me girls, I'll show you to your rooms." Monet said with a smile.

* * *

 **1 Week Later: Beacon Cafeteria**

Winston swore he could feel his ribs cracking as Nora slammed the Watermelon into his chest as though she were wielding Magnhild. The swordfish he had been wielding spun off and embedded itself into the wall between Jean's legs, pinning her skirt to the wall. Winston himself rocketed back through the tables into one of the pillars before falling to the ground, the stone column crashing down atop him.

"Gah! Pyrrhus help!" She cried as she tried to pull the fish free.

The Red head in question turned to see his leader struggling with the fish long enough for a rope of sausages to wrap around his neck and pull him into the air. He spun to cut the rope only to notice a grinning blonde flying beside him with a chicken on her hand.

"Come here often big guy?" Yang mocked before spinning and ramming the chicken on her right hand into Pyrrhus's gut. He was knocked free of the rope after the hit and came crashing down amongst the pile of tables that Nora had stacked to form a castle.

"Winston!" Ruby cried as she ran over and began trying to push the rubble off her partner.

"Ruby behind you!" Blake shouted as she spun around to see Ren swinging a pair of leaks at her. She had no time to avoid them and was slapped across the face by the veggies rapidly before Ren was forced to disengage due to a flying roast chicken.

"Get away from Ruby!" Yang shouted as she began to fly after Ren.

"Nora! A little help please!" Jean cried as she continued to struggle with the fish.

"Coming!" Nora shouted as she began to sprint over to the pinned leader.

Blake turned and swung the rope towards Ren, catching one of his feet and tripping him up long enough for Yang to flank him and smash a chicken into his back. Ren crashed into the table ahead of him and bounced into the fish pinning Jean to the wall, the crash knocking the fish free, but also tearing a large hold in Jean's skirt.

"AHH!" Jean shouted as she moved to cover herself as Nora turned to Ren.

"Girls, move!" Ruby shouted as she stopped trying to push the pillar off of Winston and turned to the pile of tables. Blake put a hand into the air for Yang as she flew by, allowing herself to be dragged through a broken window as her leader sprinted past, a large whirlwind following in her wake.

"We need to get the rubble off of Winston!" Blake shouted as she pointed at the broken column through another window.

"Not until Ruby is done!" Yang shouted as they circled the building, a group a guys standing by the door laughing at Sun and Neptune, the latter of who had been doused by some form of grape drink.

There was a loud crashing from within the building as they watched the whirlwind slam into the far wall, JNPR being carried with it. Yang swung around and flew in through another shattered window and dropped Blake, the two looking over at the wall that now resembled a splatter painting with JNPR slowly sliding off of it.

"Looks like we win this round." Yang said with her arms crossed.

"GRAH!"

Blake and Yang looked over as they heard a roar and saw Winston lift the broken column over his head and throw it against a wall. He looked horrible, with his uniform torn and dusty, and his face was hard to read. Lost somewhere between pride from winning, and rage from being left under the rubble.

"WHY!?" He shouted as he pointed at Yang.

"We were in combat. Got to take losses sometimes." Yang said with a shrug. JNPR looked even worse, being covered in every kind of food that the school offered from head to toe. Jean was holding a platter over her midsection to cover the missing chunk of her skirt, while Ren was helping Nora pull shards of soda cans out of her hair. Pyrrhus just looked like he was annoyed that his circlet was sticky.

Suddenly the tables began to move on their own, throwing Ruby off as they started to reorient themselves and rebuild as though nothing had happened. The doors swung open moments later to reveal Ozpin and Glynda, the latter looking positively livid at what the two teams had done to the cafeteria. She growled and turned to Winston, pointing her riding crop at him once she found him. With one flick, the dust was gone and Winston was flying over to his team. He came down with a crash beside Ruby, knocking one oft he tables out of place again.

"Ms. Rose, a word with your team if you would." Ozpin said as he turned to JNPR. They nodded and quickly began to rush out of the cafeteria, closing the doors behind them. Ozpin turned back to Ruby with a passive look and took a sip from his mug. He glanced to Glynda and gave a nod.

"We have reviewed the state of your dorm, and while the bunk beds are... interesting. We need you to make room for a fifth bed." Glynda said as she reached into he packet to retrieve her scroll.

"Are we getting a fifth team member?" Ruby asked.

"No miss Rose. We never make teams exceed four. Ever." Ozpin said as he took a step back and opened the door.

"However, we have a new arrival that will be staying with you while they are tutored by the teaching staff." Glynda said as she turned to the door.

Yang's eyes widened and she turned to Winston. He didn't seem to have any real reaction to the news, so she could only assume that his mother never told him.

"Ms. Goodwitch? Is the new arrival-" She started before being cut off as Glynda raised a hand.

"Yes Monet, your on speaker." She said as she turned her scroll to face RWBY.

"Hi Winston! Surprise!" She shouted before hanging up.

"What?" He asked with a bemused look.

A small figure in a white cloak walked into the doorway moments after and entered the cafeteria. She looked up and waved to Winston and his team.

 _'Hi big brother!'_

* * *

 **ALRIGHT! The new chapter is out and we're back at beacon! I decided to skim over the food fight, since I really didn't want to write it. I just wanted to move the story ahead, and the food fight was more of a welcome back in the actual show than anything else.**

 **Now I can't say for certain when the next chapter will be out, as I wasn't even aware I was going to release this one so soon. I tend to write on impulse over anything else. And I've been devoting a lot of my time to my new project, Rosario and Saiyan. If you like Rosario Vampire and DBZ, I think it has potential.**

 **I have a little more than a week until I start my new job, or rather until my promotion goes through, so I will be fairly busy for the coming month. So, in the event I don't update until afterwards...**

 **HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!**

 **A bit early sure, but what day is better? BBQ, Beer and, copious amounts of high explosives! God Bless the USA.**

 **Leave a review telling me what you like or disliked about the chapter, or the filler, believe me, I wish I had planned more carefully for it.**

 **Don't forget to vote! I'll announce the winners next chapter.**


	15. Class Is In Session

**And the winners are:**

 **Female Coco - 10/8  
**

 **Female Yatsuhashi - 7/3**

 **Male Fox - 10/5**

 **And finally, My idea for the Maidens to be revealed later - 4/1**

 **Thank you to all who voted, and to those who spent the last couple of days forcing me to go back into the chapter and up the tally for Coco. So these are the numbers as I send this off to my Beta.**

 **To those concerned by the volume one chapters, and by the filler, I wish to assure you that volume two will not be nearly as carbon copied as the previous one. I looked back and felt rather ashamed at how little I had changed it. None the less, it is a time for celebration!**

 **Everything has Changed has passed 140 favorites, and is only 4 away from 200 follows! As I was finishing this chapter, we also reached 100 reviews, Hooray for milestones!**

 **Woot!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY or any of it's affiliated characters.**

* * *

 **Beacon Library**

"Prepare your forces for the bitter taste of defeat dear sister!" Ruby shouted dramatically as she threw her arms into the air with a smug grin.

"Do your worst!" Yang dared as she aimed a finger at her little sis.

Ruby had a sharp twinkle in her eye as she drew a card from her hand dramatically. "Oh, I intend to. I play the Mistralian aquatic fleet! With their special ability I can block all the supply routes that you have from outside the kingdom!" Yang gasped dramatically as she threw an arm over her face. "That means no more help from Winston in Atlas, and no more pillaging from Blake!"

Yang threw her arm out and slammed a card into the center of the board with a wicked smile. "You've activated my trap card! Emperor Taijitu!" The card had the standard look for the ludicrously large snake. Much like an Alpha Beowolf, or an Ursa Major, the Emperor was a larger more intimidating variation of it's smaller counterpart. The Emperor Taijitu however was slightly different than others. Rather than have one head on each end, it had three on the same side, one black that spewed a cloud of acid, one white that spewed a line of fire, and one grey in the center that had venom in it's fangs strong enough to kill a Goliath in minutes.

Not that it would even matter if you were bit by that head as the Emperor Taijitu was so much insanely larger than it's lesser counterpart. Emperor Taijitu were aquatic Grimm by nature, so they rarely went ashore to attack humans. A benefit for humans, as the emperor was easily the size of the whole of the Beacon campus on average.

"With this card I can sink your entire fleet!" Yang cheered as she narrowed her eyes and shook her wings.

"But! If you roll a 10 or lower the Emperor Taijitu will turn on you and attack your walls directly! Your walls can't sustain an assault of that magnitude!" Ruby challenged with a glare.

"That's just a chance I'm willing to take." Yang said as she raised her hand and dropped the die, only for Winston to catch it and lean back in his chair.

"Except that you wont have the chance." He stated flatly as the sisters gave him equally confused stares. He reached down to Atlas and flipped one of his cards with a slight smirk. "By playing a Grimm card you activate my utility card 'Huntsman Academy' whose special effect destroys all Grimm cards in play, and you..." He said as he pointed to Ruby and flipped his other card.

"Is that the Professor?"

"You activate the 'Black Knight of Atlas' utility card. His special ability 'Demoralize' causes all opposing infantry in the land or sea to lose 50% efficiency and are required to make a D15 wisdom save or be destroyed." Winston crossed his arms and reclined in his seat as he watched Ruby and Yang's mouths fall open. It was all he could do not to burst out laughing as Ruby's ears flattened against her head and she gave him an annoyed look.

"How!? You'd never even played this game until an hour ago!" Ruby shouted as she drooped back into her chair.

"I enacted a hostile takeover of the largest dust provider on the planet when I was 17 years old." He said flatly. "It was not hard to grasp the concept of a children's card game and form a strategy by reading the rules. I knew that Yang would be over confident with a reckless strategy and risk everything on one gamble, in the same I knew that you with your..." Winston paused as he tried to find a word that wouldn't insult her much. "Youthful inexperience, would use a simple strategy that utilized building a strong army with lots of numbers that would seem dangerous to attack."

"What about a strategy for Blake?" Yang asked as she pointed to the black haired girl who was currently staring blankly at her hand.

"I didn't need one. She'd been staying up late reading things on her scroll the last few days, so I knew she'd be tired and either make foolish mistakes, or simply not play at all." Winston said as he gestured to the circles forming under Blake's eyes.

"Blake?" Yang called as she nudged her partner with her wing.

Blake's eyes focused instantly and she jolted to attention, staring straight ahead at Winston, who casually pointed to his right.

"What? Oh, sorry, what am I doing again?" Blake asked as she looked at the cards in her hand.

"Your playing as Vacuo, trying to conquer the world of Remnant." Yang leaned over to her partner and rearranged her hand with one card raised above the others. "If you play this you can beat Winston." She whispered as she slid back to her chair. Blake glanced at the card with a scowl, then turned it on Yang.

"I am NOT playing this card." She said firmly.

"Oh come on Blake, it's just a game! It's not like it will actually effect the way any of us think." Yang urged as she nudged the cat with her wings again. "Look at it this way, the sooner you win, the sooner you leave."

Blake growled as she rolled her eyes and played the offending card.

'Faunus Slave Troops.' Gain 10 Faunus ground units, but lose 90 favor with Menagerie. Winston coughed into his sleeve as he struggled to suppress his laughter at the cruel irony plaguing Blake.

"There, do I win now?" Blake asked with a scowl, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Afraid not." Winston said as he drew a card from his hand.

"Oh come on!" Yang shouted, only to be shushed by a librarian. Winston placed the card on the table and twisted it so that Blake could read it.

"White Fang uprising." She ground out as she glared at the card. "All Faunus units must make a D12 Wisdom save. Any unit that fails the save defects to the White Fang and joins the player of this card as a land unit."

Ruby visibly deflated as she allowed her arms to fall to her sides. "Ah, man... Winston won."

"No, wait a second." Yang said as she moved the bulk of her army to the top of Vale. "He may have beaten you two, but he still doesn't have the man power to beat my army." Yang turned to Winston with a smug smirk and crossed her arms. He rolled his eyes and gave her a look that said, 'Do you really want to try this?' Seeing her grin remain Winston sighed and placed two cards in the discard pile.

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked as she watched him place 'Nautilus' and 'SDC Combat Droid' in the discard pile.

"I needed to discard two powerful cards to activate this cards special ability." He placed the final card in his hand down on the board. Yang only had a moment to look at the card before she felt all the joy from the last few seconds leave her in waves.

'General Ironwood: special ability - Rally Troops - All ground, sea and air units are doubled and the power of 'Hero' cards are boosted by 75%.'

"HOW!?" Yang shouted, startling Nora at the neighboring table awake, causing her to jump back and knock Jean out of her seat.

*THUNK*

Yang froze as her eyes slowly turned to the right where a Kunai was buried in the side of the bookcase. The rest of RWBY turned slowly their heads in the direction that the knife had come from and saw the Librarian standing with her arm outstretched and a wild look in her eyes.

"S-sorry ma'am." Winston called as he tried to slide behind Ruby and out of sight of the Librarian. She gave a loud 'Shhh' then pulled her arm back quickly, dragging the knife from it's spot and sending it spiraling back over to her.

Yang, though looking visibly shaken by the teacher, looked across at Winston with an unsteady glare.

"How did you get all these good cards?!" She demanded at just above a whisper.

"I read up on the cards in the book before we played and devised a strategy to prevent any of you from invading, getting the 'Black Knight of Atlas' and the 'White Fang Uprising' was my goal, getting Ironwood was just pure luck." He said as he placed his cards down and pushed away from the table.

"Hey guys!" A voice called from behind Blake. Ruby and Yang turned to see Sun and a tall boy with shaggy blue hair walking beside him. He was wearing a white dress shirt and black tie under a red jacket with a wide, upturned, black collar and a pair of gray jeans with black padding strapped to the sides, and on the back of his jacket he had a silver reticle. He had black shoes held on by multiple straps, fingerless gloves and a pair of yellow-tinted goggles on his head. His blue hair seemed to frame his face as it fell down to below his shoulders.

"Sun?" Blake asked as she turned to the gold Faunus.

"Hey Blake, I wanted to introduce you guys to my best friend, Neptune." Sun said as he turned to the blue haired boy and waved his arms out in presenting manner. Neptune let a smile creep onto his face, small fangs appearing in the corners of his mouth.

"A pleasure..." He said as he bowed his head to the group. He had a slightly high voice, almost like a singer.

"Ooh~ A man with manners..." Yang said with a sly grin as she walked over to Neptune.

"Not really." Sun said as he slapped Neptune on the back, causing the poor boy to fall forward onto the table. "He's really bad around women, even more if they're a fellow Faunus. When he gets nervous he starts talking like someone from a high class family."

"Well it's nice to meet you Neptune." Ruby said as she patted him on the shoulder. "I'm Ruby, that's my sister Yang and her partner Blake, and this is Winston." Winston had a slight twitch in his eye as his team greeted the new commer.

"I think I am now on a first name basis with more Faunus than I am Humans." He said with a scowl, rising from his chair and pushing it back into the table.

"Where are you going Winston?" Yang called as she watched thewhite haired member of their team walking to the stairs.

"I'm heading to class. I have no desire to meet new people today."

"Isn't he the guy that got crushed by the pillar in the cafeteria this morning?" Neptune asked, eliciting a roar of laughter from the rest of RWBY and JNPR, much to the ire of the Librarian.

* * *

 **Beacon Academy Outdoor Arena**

"So..." Mercury said as he flipped through his scroll. "Remind me why we're here again?" He asked as he turned to Emerald.

The shorter girl to his side groaned as she rolled her eyes.

"We're here..." She said as she motioned to the glass encased arena and the stands that they were sitting in. "Because the new teacher is holding his first class today, and we need to see if they will pose any kind of threat."

"Ah yes, Professor Thorne, AKA. The Black Knight of Atlas." Mercury said dramatically as he pulled up a picture of JDWL up on his scroll. "Why not just look back at some footage of him fighting? We're not really going to see his A-game today in class." He said sarcastically.

"Because we can't find any good footage, he just always stood around in the back of all his teams fights, only fighting if things got close to him." Emerald said as she adjusted the hood over her head.

"So he's a coward then." Mercury said as he slowly reached behind Emerald and reached towards her hood.

"Even if he's a coward, he's a powerful one. He punched a Atlesian Knight through a Bullhead in one of the vids that I saw." Emerald said as she started reaching into her bag, only to feel a hand grab the back of her hood. Her eyes shot open as her hands flew to grab the fabric before it could be removed, to no avail.

Mercury yanked down Emeralds hood and began to snicker uncontrollably as she scrambled to pull the hood back up over her horns. They were a pair of light brown ram horns that protruded from the top of he head and curled back around her ears.

"Mercury!" She hissed as she finally wretched the hood free from Mercury's hand and pulled it back up and down past her eyes.

"What's wrong Em? Don't feel like letting them breathe today?" He snickered as he turned away from her while she hit him in the arm.

"You stupid-" She ground out through clenched teeth, but was cut off by chatter coming from the entrance to the classroom.

"No, see look!" Neptune said as he tugged on the blue hair by his jaw. "See? It's not hair, it's a mane." He said as he followed Winston into the room.

"And I said that I don't give a damn!" Winston shouted as he continued on to an empty seat on the other side of the room, followed by his team and Sun and Neptune. As they took their seats Winston shot Sun and Neptune a glare. "Don't you two have a team of your own?" He snapped.

They shared a bemused look then turned to Winston and nodded. "Yeah, but they're out on a date."

"A date?" Blake asked as she turned to Sun. "I thought you said that you guy's were an all male team."

Sun shook his head with a slight laugh. "No, the two of us and Sage are men, Scarlet is a girl." Neptune pulled out his scroll and pulled up a picture of their team to show Blake. She saw the two of them, then she saw a tall boy with short hair and dark skin, with a long white coat and a gold pauldron on his right arm. He had some kind of scales running along his arm under the armor, while the other arm was wrapped around a girl in corner.

She had light skin, with a red marking around her left eye, and long red hair that had been combed over to the right side of her head to cover her eye. She wasn't much bigger than Ruby from what Blake could see, with a slight increase in breast size over herself while still being smaller than Yang. She wore white undershirt and a bright red captains coat, with a grey bandanna tied around the top of her left arm. Blake couldn't see much bellow their waistline, as the photo cut off before she could see anything else.

"So is your whole team Faunus? Or just the guys." Ruby asked as she nudged Blake to the side and looked at the photo.

"We're all Faunus, Sun is a golden monkey." Said Faunus decided that was his cue to flex. "I'm a blue lion, Sage is a green turtle, and Scarlet is a fox, you just can't see her tail."

"A blue lion?" Winston asked with a raised brow. "Are you trying to tell me that's your natural hair color?"

Neptune crossed his arms over his chest. "You trying to say that, _that_ is your natural hair color?" He shot back.

Winston raised a finger and leveled a scowl at Neptune. "One, I'm a Schnee, we all have snow white hair, Two, white is a far more natural color than sea blue."

"I guess you've just never been to Vacuo." Neptune said with a smirk.

Winston grinned as he saw his chance. "Vacuo? Ugh, why would I ever go there?"

As Winston and Neptune got themselves into a shouting match, more and more students began to shuffle in. JNPR and CRDL took their seats around the arena, with CFVY and several other unknown teams following them in.

"Hi Velvet!" Ruby shouted as she waved across at the rabbit and her team. Velvet turned and waved, with her leader grabbing her by the belt and pulling her along.

Once the teams had all arrived the door to the classroom slid closed and the dome roof for the class began to close. Each of the teams watched with equal confusion as the room became dark, only for the floor of the arena to start glowing and illuminate the lower part of the room.

"It's almost like a theater." Winston said as he looked around and noticed that the seats were all dark, save for the occasional scroll or Faunus eyes, while the arena itself was glowing like it had a spotlight on it.

 _ **"GRIMM..."**_ A deep and loud voice resounded around the classroom surprising even the second year students that were attending as it reverberated off the walls. **_"CREATURES BORN OF HATE AND MALICE THAT FEED ON FEAR AND ANGUISH..."_** It continued as a large door on the arena floor slid open. The floor began to rise until everyone in class had a full view of professor Thorne clad fully in his massive armor standing in the center of the classroom.

 **"Now then... Who here today can tell me how many known species of Grimm exist today?"** He asked as his red eyes scanned the crowd of students. **"Anyone?"** he called again.

"Around one hundred and ninety sir!" One of the students in the crowd called.

 **"Correct. Or it would be, if you were a group of civilians and not a classroom full of the most powerful children on the planet."** Professor Thorne said as he walked to the wall below JNPR and pressed a red button, causing the center of the arena to open a massive door and begin to raise a figure out of the darkness. As the floor began to rise into view a collective gasp was heard through the class. Weather it was from awe or terror was case by case.

 **"This is, or rather, this _was_ an Elder Deathstalker. Most civilians in the world have no idea this breed of Grimm even exists."** He said as he walked over to the giant corpse.

"Sir! Shouldn't you be a bit more careful with a Grimm that size!?" Jean shouted as she watched The professor walk right up to it's open maw.

A dark chuckle could be heard through out the room as professor Thorne turned to the class. **"There is nothing to be concerned about children, this Grimm is dead. has been for a few months now."**

"Impossible!" Emerald called before she could stop herself.

"Real slick, Em." Mercury said as he turned to the teacher. "What she means is, that's impossible since Grimm dissolve once they're killed. Even one of this size wouldn't take more than a few minutes, much less a few months.

 **"Very astute observation."** The professor said as he turned and slammed a hand down on the top of the Deathstalker's head. **"There are two ways to obtain a Grimm corpse from killing them. Anyone know them?"** The professor looked around the room, but seeing no hands go up to answer he sighed.

 **"A limb, cut off of a Grimm that then escapes, will remain intact until it's original owner is killed. However, this Deathstalker is clearly whole, or mostly so at least."** He said as he ignored the missing leg on the beasts left side. **"The other tactic, is the one I used. This is very hard to do, as it requires you to make the Grimm fear you."**

 **"And I don't just mean make them afraid to attack you because it watched you slaughter it's friends a second ago, you need to make the Grimm feel absolute terror right before you kill it. As they are beasts that feed on fear, having it's own body producing it causes the body to go into a form of suspended animation for a time."**

The professor lifted one of the claws into the air so his students could get a better look.

"How did you manage to make the Grimm fear you?" Ruby asked as the professor walked past.

 **"The method that I use is unique to me, so even if I told you none of you would be able to replicate it."** He said as he turned and threw the claw over to the corpse. **"However, it is possible to make them fear you by other means."** He walked over to the wall below CFVY and grabbed a remote and aimed it the ceiling above the corpse. A box in the center lit up as four monitors on either side turned on and showed what looked like bubbling pit of tar.

 **"If you attack a Grimm near or in it's spawning pool, they are usually considered 'too young' to realize what it's mission is, so it is in a rather timid state. At this time the level of fear in the area during the birth is so high that you can make the Grimm mistakenly feed off of it's own fear."** He said as he hit a button on the remote, causing the screen to zoom out and show the desolate landscape around the pool.

"Excuse me, professor?"

 **"Yes Miss Rose?"** Professor Throne responded as he turned to RWBY.

"What's a spawning pool?"

 **I'm glad you asked."** Thorne said as he pressed a button on the remote that pulled up a map of Remnant. **"These, are the four kingdoms, Vale, Atlas, Vacuo and, Mistral led by either a royal family or a council."** A photo of Jaune appeared over Atlas as various portraits appeared over the other three kingdoms. **"In the bottom corner lies Menagerie, led by the same family for generations. This is the current Chieftain."** A photo of a large man with a full beard and a hairy chest appeared on the screen. **"His name is Ghira"**

"Uh, sir? What does this have to do with spawning pools?" Ruby asked as the class watched the screen.

 **"Patience Miss Rose, I was getting to that."** Throne said as Winston scolded Ruby for speaking out of turn. **"This is what you, and all the civilians know as The World of Remnant..."** He hit the button on the remote causing the screen to zoom out again. **"Here, is the _'True'_ World of Remnant."** The new map was much larger that the last, having Sanus, Anima, Solitas and, Menagerie in the center, with five other massive continents.

There was a quiet murmur that spread throughout the class as the students tried to process this new information.

"Sir!" Winston shouted as he got to his feet and leaned on railing to the arena. "Are you seriously trying to tell us that the rumor that there was a hidden continent outside the map was not only true, but there are actually five continents?!" He demanded as the professor turned to him.

 **"I'm not only telling you it's true Mr. Schnee, I'm going to give you proof over the course of the semester."** He said as he pressed a button on the wall behind him. The wall slid open and Thorne pulled a large bottle of black liquid from the wall. **"Please watch carefully."** Thorne turned and threw the bottle out towards the center of the arena. The bottle landed near the Elder Deathstalker with a crash as the glass shattered the moment it hit the ground, the black liquid splattering out along the floor.

...

...

...

For a moment, nothing happened. Then slowly, the black liquid started to smoke and bubble while it contracted into itself. **"Now it only needs a shape."** The professor said as he strolled over to the Deathstalker and grabbed a spine on the side of the claw. With little effort he snapped the spine off and tossed it into the center of the puddle. It landed with a small splash in the center before the liquid began to absorb the spin and grow. The classroom watched as the puddle grew and grew before it finished and started to smooth out and grow into a small Deathstalker a little bigger than a large dog.

The newly born Grimm skittered around on the floor for a moment as it examined it's new surroundings, it's insect like legs clicking against the floor as it explored the area around it.

 **"What you all just witnessed, was the birth of a new Grimm. The liquid in that bottle was 'Spawning liquid' taken directly from the pools on this continent."** The continent on the bottom right bellow Menagerie started to glow red to show the students which one he was speaking of. **"It doesn't have an official name since the leaders of the world refuse to tell the civilians that there are other continents."**

"Why would they do that? If there was more space to settle then the kingdoms could go there and collect more resources." Yang wondered aloud as she watched the screen, most of the class seeming to ignore the newly born Grimm skittering around below them.

 **"There are several reasons, most notably that they can't settle them. Though it is true that these continents are rich with resources that we have no access to on our continents, they are also filled with Grimm of such a powerful level, that nothing short of a fully trained team of Hunters can survive there."** Each of the continents began to glow a different color. **"The continent's that are red, blue and, green are the continents that my team have been to."** The top center, middle left, and bottom right.

 **"The blue continent at the top was the first, a vast northern wasteland covered in mountains, glaciers, and caves. An ideal location for dust mining, if not for the fact that the Grimm that live there having thick fur coats that can stop Bullhead rounds."** An image of a Goliath that was covered completely in heavy black fur appeared on the screen. **"The Hunter's Association of Atlas has decided to call these, 'Woolly Goliath's'. They act similar to normal Goliath's in that they tend to travel together, and they rarely attack recklessly."** He clicked the remote again and a name appeared over the continent. **"My old partner decided that it would be named 'Frostasia', and my team backed her."**

"Do you think that's the partner that died a few years ago?" Ruby whispered to Yang as the professor continued.

 **"This continent was my personal favorite, being about 3.6 thousand miles west of Vacuo it was a lush tropical paradise... provided you ignore the swarms of Grimm insects that roam the jungles."** The new image on the screen showed a Grimm that had black and yellow stripes on it's thorax, with black insect like wings and a white Grimm mask for a head. **"These Grimm aren't very large, the biggest that I saw was no bigger than my scroll, but they live in hives in the jungle that can contain hundreds of them. Their stingers secrete a poison that is eight times as lethal as a Rapier wasp."**

"Yuck. How could someone enjoy a place like that with those things flying around." The leader of CFVY said as she adjusted her glasses.

 **"My armor is far too thick for their stingers to reach me Miss Adel."** The professor said as he slammed a fist into his chest several times, eliciting a hollow metal clang. **"I also love palm trees, and that continent was covered in them. That's also not to say that these were the only Grimm on this continent,** **Beringels are also very common in these places, as well as most common Grimm that you can see throughout Vacuo."**

 **"Now finally, we come to the final continent that my team visited, a little over five years ago. We spent two months in Frostasia with no casualties. We spent a little more than nineteen months on the jungle continent with our leader breaking his arm, and my partner being stung twice before we came back to the main lands..."** The professor said as the screen focused on the red continent and began to list statistics and pictures. The class saw large mountains and lakes filled with lava, massive wastelands and plateau's covered end to end in Grimm of all shapes and sizes.

 **"My team spent two weeks on this continent. We were airdropped in by a remote controlled Bullhead that was knocked out of the sky shortly after it dropped us. We had gone to the other continents to explore, and test the terrain to see if there was any place that Humanity could safely create a settlement."** He said as the screen scrolled through more pictures of the wasteland, finally coming to a stop at a field filled with pools of bubbling black tar. **"These are spawning pools. This continent was covered with them, constantly producing Grimm like the one you saw before."** Thorne said as he scanned the floor until her spotted the small Deathstalker skittering around on the far side of the room.

"Is it okay to just let that thing run around like that professor?" Jean called as the Deathstalker passed under her team for the fifth time.

 **"Not to worry, it's a newborn. It's still too weak to actually fight any of the people present."** He said as he watched the Grimm try to climb the wall, only for the forcefield to stop it. The Grimm poked the wall with it's pincers a few times before slamming it's stinger into it and backing away defensively as it beeped at it.

"Professor, why did you only stay on this continent for two weeks?" Cardin asked as his team watched the Deathstalker with an amused expression.

 **"Because Mr. Winchester, we realized quick that it wasn't like the others. The Grimm concentration was significantly higher than the other continents, and the landscape didn't offer any of the other natural resources that the other two did. It was just a rocky wasteland covered in those pools."** The professor clicked the remote and it showed a closeup of the photo with all the pools. **"It is very important for me to mention that these pools are also _highly_ acidic. I don't know what the liquid is make of, but it's corrosive nature means that it will dissolve anything organic that touches it."**

The class looked at the new photo of Jaune holding his hand as Winter froze the skin around the burn.

 **"My 'fearless leader', discovered that for us after we watched a pool spawn a Beowolf. He went over to scoop some up and slipped on some loose terrain."** The professor said with a mildly sarcastic tone. **"Through the dear Prince's mishap, we discovered that it burns on contact with organic tissue. It burned through the leather straps on his armor, but left the metal on his arm untouched."**

"How did you manage to get those samples if it was that dangerous to hold?" Pyrrhus asked as he watched the Deathstalker skitter behind the much larger corpse and out of his view.

 **"As I said, 'organic tissue'. My armor was built to withstand a vacuum, so I was simply the one who carried the vials, and removed the samples from the pools. There wasn't any concern of getting the substance on me."** The small Deathstalker peaked it's head out from under the dead behemoth and glared up at the professor, who's back was currently turned to it. **"After we determined that the continent was uninhabitable, and we learned how the Grimm were created, we signaled the Mistralian military for our evac. The military had several battle cruisers stationed nearby each continent depending on what we were closest to, and we would signal them when it was time to go."**

"Why didn't you go to the other continent's?" Nora asked as she rocked back and forth in her seat.

 **"Because my team disbanded while we were on that continent. My partner was separated from us while we were leaving, and my leader and his partner couldn't afford to stay and search for her. He had a kingdom to run, and his partner had military obligations. I remained on that continent myself for two years before returning to Atlas."** Thorne said with a visible slouch as he started to walk slowly towards the Elder Deathstalker.

"Did you ever find her?" Velvet asked as she watched the professor walk towards the corpse.

 **"Yes..."** His tone was deeper, more sad as he spoke. **"Or rather, I found her arm. It had been torn off at the bicep, with corrosive burns near the wound. What ever Grimm that it was that took her, it threw her into one of those pools. Weather she managed to crawl out and died later, or died in the pool I don't know. Her arm was the only part that we could bury, so I brought it with me to Atlas, and Jaune helped me bury Diamond in the castle garden."**

...

...

...

Most of the class was torn between feeling sad for the professor or feeling awkward from the atmosphere left after the story. The professor turned and clapped his hands together suddenly, startling part of the class.

 **"Well then. Seems that I got off topic, and based on the clock, we don't have time to get to the next lesson I had planned, so I will leave you with this."** As he spoke he hit a button on the opposite side of the remote, causing the door to the arena to open and let the light from outside flood the room. Students shielded their eyes as the sunlight illuminated the room. **"Discuss what I have shown you today with your team, and I'll see you all next week for class."**

The bell rang and the students got to their feet and began to shuffle out of the arena with their teams as they discussed the information that the teacher had told them.

"Do you think the boss will want to know about him? Or should we just write him off as a conspiracy theorist." Mercury asked as he and Emerald walked out at the back of the class.

"He had a bottle of the Spawning Fluid, so he has been to the Grimmlands. I think she'll want to know that there's someone at this school who may have seen something he shouldn't have." Emerald said as she and Mercury turned towards their dorm.

The professor watched the students leave, giving them all the chance to leave before he hit the button again and closed the door.

 **"Well Jaune, I told them about the 'real world'... I sure hope you know what your doing out there."** Thorne said as he glanced over to the corpse.

*Tink*

*Tink*

*Tink*

The professor raised a brow as he turned to look for the source of the noise, only to find the small Deathstalker trying to stab his feet. It's tiny stinger was bouncing off the armor on his boot every time it connected.

 **"Heh... I forgot about you..."** The professor said as he turned towards the Grimm, causing it to back away in a defensive stance. He tilted his head to the side with a click, and the sound of air quickly being released filled the room. **"How about we have some fun..."** As he finished the plates on his armor separated and a dark green fog spilled out onto the floor and raced towards the Grimm.

* * *

 **There you go guys, the CFVY poll is over! Three girls and one guy.**

 **Also, SSSN was introduced earlier, and they're all Faunus! Yay for changes.**

 **The concept of 'True Remnant' is one that I explored in my first RWBY story, 'Five Months Later', but I decided to try a different, more manageable angle this time around. Less islands, more careful geography.**

 **I also explored a bit more into JDWL, and gave a few hints towards the mysterious Professor Thorne. I keep dropping clues to what his power is, but no one ever seems to really latch onto them. I also gave some more story into the board game in the library. Sorry guys, no fight scene this time, and no going into vale. Have to wait for next chapter.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the first real jump into Volume two, and the first class with Professor Throne. Leave a review telling me what you thought about the chapter, and I hope you all come back for the next.**


	16. Authors Note

**Hey Everyone, Blackout here.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed all the Holidays and had a happy New Years. Work's been pretty backed up for the last few months, and I'm starting classes this fall so I've been busy getting all my affairs in order.  
**

 **None the less I want all of you to know that I have not abandoned or dropped this fic. 'Everything has Changed' has been my most popular FF to date since I started my account back in 2010 an I have no intention of letting it end without finishing the story.**

 **Some of you may notice that the description has changed and now features a count of each of the chapters. This is because I have been going back through the chapters and doing some much needed touching-up. Correcting grammar mistakes and revising some of the lines that I have changed since it was written.**

 **Now there is no need to go back through all the chapters and re-read them, nothing major has been changed and the plot remains unaffected by the alterations.**

 **I also have some good news for all of you, and it's that I have commissioned some art for the cover of the FanFiction depicting two of the main characters. I won't tell you who yet, (Bonus points to any of you who do guess correct) But it should be completed within the month, along with the release of the next chapter.**

 **Until then, I wanted to thank those of you who stuck around and supported this FF despite my painfully sporadic update schedule. It means a lot that you'd read my work despite the errors that I continue to find in the older chapters, and the embarrassing sea of plot-holes that was the Filler Arc.**

 **See you all in the next Chapter.**


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